Reckoning
by Eridani23
Summary: The Shredder is dead. The turtles finally get a break and can relax. Or can they? Karai is out for revenge and one turtle in particular is targeted. But another soon catches her attention and that of a different enemy. Can the brothers survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: **This is my first attempt at _writing_ a fanfic. I have been reading them for a couple of years now. So please review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the TMNT and other charactres.

Reckoning

Chapter 1

He sat there, unable to move very much without pain shooting through his body. His hands were chained behind his back and they in turn were chained to the wall he was leaning against. He was bleeding from various wounds and bruised from being beaten.

He attempted to meditate, to try and clear his mind and rid himself of the pain he felt, but it was a mute effort. He was just too weak to concentrate for any length of time.

He tuned his attention to his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was, but couldn't. He had no idea where he was or even how long he has been there, but he definitely knew _why_ he was there…

Some weeks earlier…

There he was, standing over the lifeless body of the Shredder, their most infamous enemy, and there kneeling beside him was Karai, his adopted daughter and second in command. She shed no tears for her fallen master. In stead she glared at his killer with nothing but pure hatred in her eyes.

"I swear, on my honor, that you will pay for this Leonardo."

"You are without honor Karai" Leo said with a hint of malice in his voice.

Karai said nothing as she turned back to her fallen father.

From behind him Leo heard Don yell at him, "Leo, we gotta get everyone outta here before more back up arrives."

The urgency in Donatello's voice snapped Leo's attention back to his family and they made their escape.

Back at the lair, the harsh reality of the severity of the injuries they had all sustained hit the blue clad turtle like a gale force wind.

Leonardo suppressed the panic he felt welling up inside of him and quickly assessed the situation. He, Donatello and Raphael suffered from multiple deep gashes that would need stitching. Michelangelo and Splinter were both lying on the floor unconscious. Mikey's arm jutted out at a weird angle at the elbow and his wrist was swollen to the size of a softball. Splinter had cuts and bruises, mostly minor injuries with the exception of the large lump on his head, causing his unconsciousness.

They had taken a bad beating and were lucky to have made it out alive. No one had seen the ambush coming. They were overwhelmed with the sheer number of Foot surrounding them. They knew from the beginning that they would be in for a tough fight, and having just completed a vigorous training session they were tired and not up to full strength.

"Leo, help me with Mikey," again Donny's voice snapped him back to reality. They carried him to his room and gently laid him the bed. Donnie then proceeded to clean everyone's wounds and stitch them up and in Mikey's case, resetting his elbow.

Raph was being uncharacteristically quiet. Leo being concerned went up to his brother to see if he could help.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Leo asked his red masked brother.

Raphael just stared at his brother with a blank look in his face for a few moments. When he spoke he didn't sound like Raph, but reminded Leo of their purple masked turtle Donatello.

"Is he really dead Leo? We don't have to worry about him any more right?" Raph was pleading with his older brother to confirm this information. Leo was taken aback. He didn't realize that Raph felt this way. But then again Raphael always kept his feelings to himself.

"Yeah Raph, he's dead, but we still have enemies out there" At that Raph let out a little smirk telling Leo that he didn't consider any of those enemies to be a big threat.

With everyone stitched up and resting comfortably in their rooms, Leo retreated to the privacy of his own room. He suddenly couldn't hold it in any longer and he broke down in tears. He has never lost control like this before, but he had come too close to loosing his whole world, his family.

Sure they had been in bad situations before, with their backs against the wall. They had even almost lost someone on couple of occasions, but this time was different. This time he almost lost his entire family. He shuddered at the thought. He wouldn't know what to do if he found himself alone. Raphael always called him the 'fearless leader' but Raph was way wrong. Leo was scared every day that he would be left alone. He _never_ wanted to be alone.

When he had recovered from his sobs, his thoughts began to wander and came to rest on Karai. She had always walked on the thin line of good and evil. Leo knew she helped them when she could, but that was getting harder for her to do lately. Karai felt that she was honor bound to obey the Shredder for taking her in and raising her.

Now though, Leo knew that she would never again lift one finger to help the turtles. But he didn't know what her motives would be now. Would she take command of the Foot? That was pretty much a given. Would she leave them alone or would she take up her dead masters' ambition to destroy them all?

Leo let out a big sigh. He knew Karai would want her revenge. He started to worry, for it was his responsibility to protect the family. Sometimes he wondered why Splinter had chosen _him _as leader, but when he thought about it, it made sense, at least logically. Raphael was too much of a hot head, loosing his temper easily. Michelangelo was a kid at heart and wouldn't be able to handle the responsibilities emotionally and Donatello, well, Donny could possibly handle it if he had to but he was more of a following type than a leader type.

Leonardo started to drift in to a restless sleep, but in the last moments of consciousness he heard Karais' vengeful words echo in his mind… "_you will pay_"

In the present…

He braced himself; he was once again being dragged into what he could only call hell, for that is what awaited him behind the door ahead of him. The only thing he could count on was pain and torment once he passed through the door. He was alone…

**A/N: Okay how'd it go? I have more chapters planned, so please send your reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter, your encouragement means a lot and as a reward here is the next chapter. Enjoy!!**

Chapter 2

Back in the past….

It has been only a week since the Shredders demise and the turtles were, slowly but surely, recuperating from their injuries and starting to get back to their old routine.

Mikey was back to playing his pranks and Raph was back to chasing him around the lair threatening to 'beat the shell out of him'. Leo was, as usual, being the intervening force between the two, trying to calm Raph down and telling Mikey to act his age.

But this time Leo snapped, "Mikey, when are you going to stop this nonsense and grow up?" he yelled angrily at his brother.

Everyone in the room froze and stared at Leo. He has never lost his temper with Michelangelo like this before. In fact, deep down he had always found the antics of his baby brother to be very amusing.

Mikey, looking devastated, looked down towards the floor breaking his brothers gaze, "I'm sorry Leo" he said barely above a whisper.

Leo gave an exasperated grunt and left the living room and entered the dojo for their training session.

The three remaining turtles just stood there, dumbfounded at their brother's odd behavior.

Splinter interrupted the silence, calling to them from inside from the dojo, "Come my sons, it is time for training." Mikey was so dejected after his confrontation with Leo that he didn't start to complain like he usually does before training practice.

Donatello went up to the hesitant Michelangelo and put a hand on his shoulder for support, "Let's go Mikey, it'll be okay." With a nod, the orange masked turtle followed his brothers into the dojo.

Once there, they all knelt down in front of their sensei ready to receive their instructions.

"Today I would like you to spar, Leonardo with Raphael and Donatello with Michelangelo." Beside him, Don noticed the small sigh of relief from his little brother.

Not noticing, Splinter continued to give instructions. "Your injuries have not yet fully healed and so I ask you to mind your limitations."

And so Leo and Raph started to spare in the dojo where as Don and Mikey moved into the extra training area just outside the dojo to give them more space to move around.

Splinter in the mean time decided against physical training but instead chose to meditate. None of his sons seemed to notice that he has become slower and stiffer since the battle. He gave a mental sigh. Time was catching up with him. He knew this would happen eventually, but he didn't count on it happening so soon. At least he doesn't have to worry about the Shredder anymore, but that battle had taken a lot out of him and another of that scale would probably mean his life. He was not ready to leave his sons and they in turn were not ready to be on their own. He feared what would happen to them if he had to leave them before they were ready.

Raph and Leo were pretty much evenly matched when it came to fighting and were often paired together to increase their endurance and focus.

Raph stopped mid attack and pointed to Leo's right arm, "You're bleedin' bro."

Leo looked at the long gash on his arm where there was indeed bleeding and quite a lot of it too. "It's nothing, keep going"

Raphael replaced both sais into his belt and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Not until you get that fixed up."

"Stop being so stubborn and start fighting." Leo replied, starting to get really upset, though he didn't know why.

"No" was Raph's simple reply. "Now go take care of yourself"

"I have no time for that" Leo said as he lunged towards Raphael, loosing his temper for the second time that day, highly bizarre for the usually calm and collected turtle.

"Leonardo" his master's stern command made him stop dead in his tracks. Splinter crossed the room and inspected Leos injured arm. "Go find Donatello and have him restitch your wound."

Leo bowed and left the dojo without a word. "Man and I thought I was the one who was supposed to have the short temper" Raph said staring after his brother.

Splinter let out a heavy sigh, "It seems that Leonardo has some psychological wounds that need healing as well. You must give him time my son."

"Sure no problem sensei." Raph said, still unsure, he then headed towards his punching bag to finish his workout.

Don and Mikey were sparing when Leo approached. Mikey avoided Leo's gaze and instead looked down to the floor. Leo ignored him and turned to the family medic, "Sensei says you're to look at my arm."

"Sure Leo, come with" Before he left Donatello spared an encouraging smile to Michelangelo who returned the gesture.

Once in Donny's lab that also served as the infirmary, Donny confronted Leo, "You were pretty hard on Mikey earlier bro" Leo gave his purple masked brother a look that brokered no further comment, but almost immediately his features softened "I know Donny, I don't know what came over me. I can't seem to control my temper lately."

Don finished re-stitching Leos wound before responding, "Maybe you should talk to Master Splinter about it, he might know of some meditation exercises that could help you."

"Yeah I'll do that Donny, thanks" And with that Leo left the lab. Somehow Donny didn't believe that Leo would approach their sensei on his own.

_Maybe he just needs time_,_ that's what we all need, time to heal our wounds, and put all this behind us so we can move on,_ he thought to himself trying to stay optimistic.

Mikey used this time to steel away to the kitchen, not for food but for some aspirin. "Man, my arms killin' me" he said aloud has he fumbled to open the pill bottle. His left arm sported a broken wrist and a fractured elbow and hung from a sling around his neck.

His fighting abilities did not suffer from lack of use of an arm. Instead the qualities that allowed him to master the nunchaku in the first place, agility and quickness, gave him the ability to hold his own against any of his brothers, for a short time, and he was getting better everyday.

All in all things were slowly returning to s sense of normalcy for the sewer dwelling family.

But unbeknownst to them, a plan was brewing to turn their world upside down…..

**A/N: What did you think? Typical cliffhanger I know but, oh well. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Italics are either thoughts or dreams

Chapter 3

In the present…

_Five days, that's how long I've been here, where ever here is. I only know because she told me, probably as a tactic to squash any hope I hold of a rescue. In the beginning I put all my focus to find a means of escape, but it didn't last long after the torture started. Now, as I sit in my cell, my thoughts focus on stopping the pain. _

_When will it all stop? She hopes to break me, and soon I fear she will succeed. I don't know how much longer I can hold on and I don't know how much longer her patience will hold out. I refuse to give up easily. Defiance is my only way of fighting back. I will not give her ANY satisfaction, and when she looks into my eyes I know she can see the flame that refuses to be blown out…_

In the past…

Leonardo woke up in a panic. His plastron heaved up and down with his rapid breathing and his bedding was soaked with sweat. He sat up and laid his head in his hands. That was the sixth night in a row that this nightmare woke him up. It was always the same…

_He was standing over the dead body of the Shredder, his blood-stained katana at his side. He turned to look for his brothers and Splinter. He gasped and fell to his knees at the sight of his entire family lying in a large pool of their combined blood. He heard the corpse of his dead sensei speak to him, 'You have done it my son. You have ridden the world of a great evil and all it cost you was our lives' Leo sobbed uncontrollably into his hands as the living corpse laughed…_

"Ugh" Leo grunted with frustration. _That's not what happened, _he thought. _The Shredder is dead and my family is fine. They're all fine. I am not alone, I'm not._

Hit lashed out and punched the wall in a final outburst before he got his emotions under control. He looked at his clock and checked the time, "No way! It can't be 2:30 in the afternoon! Why didn't anyone wake me?"

He left the solitude of his room in search of some answers and some food. He suddenly realized that he was famished.

It wasn't long before he spotted Michelangelo sitting on the coach munching on popcorn and watching TV.

"Mornin' sunshine" he said with a smirk and patted the couch inviting Leo to join him. Leo sat down and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"Why didn't anyone wake me?" he asked a little more harshly than he had intended. Without looking away from the TV Mikey answered, "Sensei told us not to. He said that you needed the rest."

They sat watching TV together and eating popcorn in silence. After a few minutes, Leo noticed that they were the only ones in the lair.

"Where is everyone any way?" he asked to make conversation with his youngest brother. He really needed to spend some more time with Mikey.

"Oh, um, Raph his topside hittin' the streets with Casey, Donnie went to raid the junkyard again and sensei went somewhere quiet to meditate or somethin'." He replied with a shrug.

"Well," Mikey said after another few minutes, "I'm due at Aprils', you wanna come bro?"

"Nah, I'm just gonna stay here and get in some extra practice." Mikey rolled his eyes at his brothers' response, "Suit yourself. Hey, I almost forgot, everyone's meetin' back up here for dinner, and April's supplyin' the pizza." He said grinning from ear to ear. It was Leos' turn to roll his eyes.

"See ya later bro" he yelled as Mikey left the lair.

At the junkyard…

Donatello was in his element, surrounded by other peoples discarded trash. He had already acquired quite the pile of what he deemed 'valuable flotsam'. Well, it was valuable to him at least.

He stared at his pile, scratching his head. "How the shell am I going to get all this home?"

He started to rummage though the pile and pull out the most needed items when got the feeling that he was being watched. He stood up and looked around, his senses on high alert. He could see nothing out of the ordinary.

He turned back to his pile when he unexpectedly felt a sharp prick on his arm. He looked down and saw a dart sticking out. He reached over with his other hand and pulled it out. Before he realized what was happening, he was surrounded by twenty or so Foot Elite.

He reached behind him and pulled out his bo, already feeling the effects of the tranquilizer. He struggled to stay awake and on his feet. He managed to stop one attack, before he heard someone from behind him speak,

"As much as I would enjoy watching your weak attempt at fighting the drugs and my men, we don't have the time. You have an appointment to keep." The man then pulled out what Donny recognized as a stun gun. His eyes widened in fear as the gun fired, then he felt the electricity coursing through his body and grimaced in pain.

The pain of the shock coupled with the drugs was too much for him and he lost consciousness before he hit the ground.

In an ally near Aprils' apartment…

Mikey knelt down next to the manhole cover and was about to lift it open when a loud crash made him jump. He grabbed for his chucks and was in a ready stance in a split second ready for an attack. He sighed with relief as he spotted a stray cat and a tipped over trash can.

"You scared me there for a sec kitty," he said as he stashed his weapons back in his belt.

"You should be scared" said a menacing voice from the shadows.

Mikey didn't even have the chance to draw his weapons before he was hit with a stun gun. He fell to the ground contorting with pain.

He heard the same voice talk to someone he couldn't see, "Yeah we got the orange turtle, and our last target is the red one."

_Raph. _It was his last thought as he slipped into darkness.

Nearing sunset on a rooftop…

She stood there staring at the three bound, unconscious turtles. "What happened to the red one? I said I wanted them unharmed." She said angrily to the man responsible for their apprehension.

"He put up a good fight and we did what we had to in order to capture him and bring him to you" She was appalled at the pleading in his voice. The turtle wasn't seriously injured she assured herself. He had sustained only minor scrapes and bruising.

"And what of his friend?" she asked of a different man. A wicked smile crossed his face as he answered, "Heh, heh, we let him survive the attack to serve as our messenger."

"I am impressed" she replied, "now all we need to do is wait for him to come to us."

**A/N:** As always reviews are welcome and encouraged


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Okay, the fourth chapter is finally up. Sorry about the delay but I got really bogged down with tons of homework. Thanks to those who have reviewed, I appreciate it.

As before thoughts are in italics.

Enjoy!

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 4

Back at the lair…..

After Michelangelo left, Leo was alone in the lair. He channel flipped for a while but when he couldn't find anything worth watching he got up off the coach and turned the T.V. off. He headed towards the dojo, determined to get some quality training in while it was quiet enough so he could really concentrate without any distractions. It wasn't long before he let out an exasperated sigh and gave up on the kata he had been working on for about an hour.

'_I always thought that my brothers were distracting me with all of their ruckus.' _He thought furrowing his eyebrows in frustration and confusion.

'_I always yelled at them to be quiet so I could concentrate, but the noise was actually helping my concentration.'_

Leo mulled this thought over for a little while until he came to an important awareness. His brothers were responsible for keeping him balanced during his lone training sessions, not for disrupting him. The noise wasn't what kept him balanced, it was his brothers. It was their presence. His family gave him his focus and strength just simply by being there. It was a perplexing feeling and that's why he always thought that the noise was distracting.

Leo always knew that he needed his brothers, but he has never realized just how much they influenced him without him knowing.

'_That's why I've been having those nightmares. If I lose my brothers, I will also lose a part of my self.'_

Leonardo smacked his forehead as he recalled his recent behavior towards his brothers.

'_How could I have been so stupid? I can't push my family away, I need to hold them close.'_

Leo was over come with guilt of his conduct, especially with his outburst against Mikey. He swore to himself that he would make amends somehow and he would start with apologizing to everyone at dinner.

But he still had awhile before everyone was due back. Before he could turn to leave the dojo, he felt a hairy hand touch his shoulder and he jumped with surprise for being caught unawares. His sensei was the only one who could ever sneak up on him.

"You are thinking hard my son, what is on your mind?" Splinter asked his eldest son with a caring and understanding look.

"Oh, just of how much of a jerk I've been lately." Leo replied with guilt lacing his voice.

"Do not worry Leonardo, when you realize your mistakes, your family will always be there to forgive you."

"Thank you sensei." Leo said as he bowed to show his respect and gratitude.

"Come, there is some time before dinner, let us meditate until then."

With that Leo followed Splinter to his room and sat in meditation until they heard April arrive with dinner.

"Dinner's here, come and get it everyone." April yelled as she entered the lair.

"Hey April, what's for dinner?" Leo asked of his red-headed friend following her into the kitchen with Splinter right behind them.

"What else? Pizza of course," was her reply, delivered with a smile.

"So, where's Mikey" Leo asked, just noticing that his youngest brother didn't arrive with April and was no where to be seen, which was highly unusual for the orange clad turtle when there's pizza to be had.

"He's not here? He left my place when I went to pick up the pizza. He should have beaten me here" She shrugged and continued to get down plates and glasses for everyone.

"Hmm, he probably just got side tracked at a comic book store or something and lost track of the time." Leo said reaching for his shell cell to give his brother a call.

"LEO" came the sudden cry from the living room. "About time" came Aprils' reply to Caseys' announcement of his arrival. But to Leonardo something sounded wrong with Caseys' greeting. For one thing it didn't sound like Caseys' usual boisterous self and the voice behind it sounded like it was …in pain. After a look to Splinter that confirmed his suspicions, Leo rushed into the living room the others hot on his heels.

They stared in disbelief at the figure sprawled on the floor before them. It was Casey but every inch of exposed skin was covered in fresh bruises and smeared blood. His breathing was labored and he was fighting to stay awake.

April rushed to his side carefully lifting his head and setting it in her lap. "Casey, what happened to you?" she asked.

"Where is Raphael?" Splinter added.

Casey struggled with his answer, "They've…g-got…'im" he stammered.

"Who's got him?" Leo asked but he already knew the answer.

"We…were…a-ambushed…by the…F-Foot" he finally managed to get out before he fell into unconsciousness.

Leo immediately made for the entrance to the lair but found Splinter blocking his way.

"Leonardo, do not be rash and rush into the situation"

"But master Splinter, I have to go after Raph"

"I know, but for this you need the assistance of Donatello and Michelangelo."

Nodding in agreement, Leo reached again for his shell cell and first dialed Donnies' number. No answer. Panic was starting to swell inside his stomach and was making its way up his spine. He quickly dialed Mikeys' number. _"Please answer" _he silently pleaded. Again, no answer. Leonardo became angry with concern for his brothers and punched the wall, causing his knuckles to bleed.

"Neither are answering. Something's wrong"

"Then you must go and find them" Splinter inform his son

"You aren't coming master Splinter?"

"I am afraid not my son, to do so would surely mean my life. The last battle with the Shredder has left me greatly weakened" he responded with a sad sigh. Leonardo looked upon his father with sorrow in his eyes as he made a promise to him, "I WILL bring my brothers home."

"Be safe my son" Splinter said, "This smells like a trap"

Leo said nothing, only nodding to show that he heard and agreed, as he left the lair.

XXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, on a rooftop…

"Quickly, hide these three out of sight," she ordered to those guarding the still unconscious turtles. They quickly obeyed, hiding in the shadows. "It won't be long now" she said, her voice laced with hatred and revenge.

XXXXXXXXXX

Leo leaped from rooftop to rooftop following the trail of the Foot. _'They defiantly want me to find them'_ he thought because ninja never left a trail unless they wanted to be found. He stopped. Something moved in the corner of his eye. There on the roof next to him he saw something flap in the wind.

When he got close enough to identify the object, his eyes widened in shock. Hanging off a peg on the roof access door were his brothers bandanas. Leo reached out to grab them when a whirring sound passed his ear and a ninja star imbedded into the door by the bandanas. He unsheathed his katanas as he turned. There before him were ten Foot ninjas.

"Where are they?" Leo demanded.

None answered and they rushed forward and attacked. Leo blocked the attacks without much effort and soon defeated them. Ten wasn't difficult for him to handle on his own and he was only slightly tired.

"WHERE ARE THEY" he demanded again. He knew there were more lurking in the shadows.

"You shouldn't worry about your brothers Leonardo," said a familiar voice, "you should be worrying about yourself" at that Leo was immediately surrounded by what he counted as fifty or so ninja and not the ordinary variety, but by Foot Tech and Foot Elite. He stood no chance against these odds even if his brothers were at his side. This time they attacked one at a time attempting to ware him down. When he defeated one, another took his place and they didn't stay down for long.

His plastron was heaving with his effort to get air into his lungs and his reflexes were slowing with fatigue when she called a halt to the attack. The ninja parted to let her through to the front.

"Karai" Leo managed in a growl.

"Leonardo" was her simple reply. Her eyes were cold and her voice held none of its usual contrition.

"What did you do with my brothers?" Leo asked.

At first she said nothing.

"If you were wise Hamato Leonardo, you would drop your weapons and surrender to me right now" Karai smiled as her words elicited a stunned look on her opponents face.

"And why would I do that?" Leo replied furrowing his eyebrows, perplexed at her demand.

"You will do as I say unless…" she signaled for the hostages to be brought out, "... you want your brothers blood to be on your hands."

'_No'_ Leo was speechless as he saw his brothers unceremoniously dropped at the edge of the circle of Foot Ninja. They were bound and unconscious.

"So you see Leonardo, I am in control"

"NO" he shouted and with a speed he didn't know he possessed, he was in front of Karai placing a katana at her throat. "Release them or I'll kill you" his words came out as a barely audible whisper owing to his inconceivable anger.

"I do not think so" she countered, looking towards where his brothers lay. Leo followed her gaze. His brothers were now on their knees, still unconscious, with daggers at their throats.

"If you kill me, your brothers die." Knowing what the turtle was thinking she added, "If you attack those guarding them, you might be able to stop one from dying but at the expense of the others. Do you really want to take that risk?" When he didn't respond she further explained, "The only way to save them all is to surrender yourself to me."

At this he looked into her eyes, "How do I know that you'll spare them once I surrender?"

"On my word as a ninja."

"That isn't good enough."

"Fine" and without breaking her eye contact she gave the order, "kill them"

"NO. Wait, you win" Leonardo lowered his katana and dropped them at Karais feet. As he did so, ninja came up and grabbed him and bound his hands behind is back with chains.

XXXXXXXXXX

No one noticed that Michelangelo had woken up when they dropped him. The first thing he realized was that his hands were tied behind his back and that Don and Raph were beside him, but Leo wasn't. _'Oh shell, we're trapped by the Foot.' _ He decided it would be wiser to play dead, _'bad choice of words'_ he thought to himself. He heard two people talking but couldn't make out who it was. He felt himself being lifted to his knees and a knife being pressed to his throat. He resisted the urge to free himself of the situation, for the moment, figuring it would only make his situation worse. His eyes popped open when he heard Karai ordered them to be killed.

What he saw left him in shock. A whole lot of Foot Tech and Foot Elite surrounded them, and in the middle was Leo holding one of his katana at Karais throat. Raph and Donnie were beside him, also tied and daggers at the throat but they, unlike him, were out cold. There was no way they could help Leo. Then he watched in horror as Leo dropped his katana and surrendered to Karai.

As ninjas were binding Leos' hands behind him, Mikey shouted out to his brother, "Leo, NO…." Everyone turned to look at him as the blade was pressed harder against his neck. He met Leos' eyes for a split second before Leo looked away, too ashamed to face his baby brother.

Mikey glared at Karai, "You'll never get away with this" She laughed at the cliché, "I already have Michelangelo"

And his world once again went black.

XXXXXXXXXX

Leonardo winced as he saw a ninja hit his brother in the back of the head, and as Mikey fell onto his stomach with a groan as he passed out.

"What now" Leo asked, although he had a feeling that he knew what was going to happen. _'Well at least my brothers are safe, what happens to me doesn't matter'_

"Now…" she replied as he felt a sharp prick in his arm, "…I can finally have my revenge" as he too slipped into darkness….

XXXXXXXXXX

**A/N:** Okay, I'll try and have the next chapter up sometime next week. Input is always welcome and wanted, so please review!!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Okay here it is! Sorry for the delay but I had some trouble trying to get the story to portray exactly what I want. It's not easy. Anyway, italics are thoughts. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5 

On the Rooftop….

Not much time passed before Donatello started to wake up. He came to his senses slowly. His was first aware of a stiffness and aching throughout his body. He went to use his arms to push himself up, but found that his arms didn't comply. Still not completely awake, Donnie was mystified as to why his arms wouldn't obey. Then it hit him. His hands were tied behind his back, but…why? He would have smacked his forehead if he was able. He was attacked by the Foot, shot with a tranquilizer and a stun gun and then obviously bound. After that little embarrassing display of stupendous intellect (not), he realized that he was no longer at the junkyard but instead was on a roof, and it was dark.

'_Great , what else could go wrong?'_ he thought begrudgingly. It was then that he checked out his surroundings and spied two of his brothers on either side of him. Both were mask-less, but he knew they were Raphael and Michelangelo. They too were bound, but they were still unconscious. _'I had to ask.'_

But nothing else seemed out of place, which to Donnie really seemed to be out of place. No one was around but them. No Foot, no guards, no…anyone. Odd couldn't begin to describe it, _'Why would they bother capturing us, then leave us alone unguarded and out in the open?' _He was truly confused, not something he was very often. _'Something's not right.'_

As soon as he convinced himself that they were truly left to their own devises, he easily maneuvered his hands so they were in front of him. Luckily, rope was used to secure their hands and so he used his teeth and made short work of the knot. This also baffled Donatello. If the Foot truly intended to keep the turtles as their prisoners, tying their hands behind their backs with rope would not be enough to hold them and the Foot knew this.

Feeling rushed back into his hands. The ropes were tied so tight they had been cutting off the blood supply. He proceeded to check on his brothers and free them as well. Mikey seemed to be okay with only a large bump on the back of his head. "He's gonna have one heck of a headache when he wakes up" he said aloud, abandoning his mental dialog for the spoken one. He then turned his attention to Raph. He gave a little grimace at the condition of his brother. Covered from head to toe with bruises and scrapes, (a few needing stitches), Raph had defiantly put up a good fight. Thankfully none of them had any life threatening injuries.

"Wait, where's Leo?" He asked out loud, fully expecting his eldest brother to choose that moment to reveal himself, but he didn't. All sorts of possibilities rushed through his mind, none of them good.

Upon further inspection of the rooftop Donnie spotted his, Raph's and Mikey's masks hanging on the access door. A ninja star was imbedded next to them. The symbol on that ninja star was all too familiar. It belonged to the Foot. Dons' eyes narrowed with a troubled feeling. "Okay, I already knew that the Foot brought us here, but where are they now and why did they leave us alive?" They've been after us ever since they discovered our existence. This whole situation just doesn't make any sense…." His trail of thought was cut off when he spotted something glinting on the rooftop a few feet away. Curious, he walked over but stopped dead in his tracks when he realized what the object was. Or rather objects.

Donnie stared in disbelief at Leos' twin katana lying next to his mask. He fell to his knees, still not believing what he was looking at. Leo never left his weapons just lying around. They were apart of him. Donnie felt numb and it had nothing to do with the cooling temperatures. Something had happened to Leo, something bad. He grabbed the katana and tucked the blue mask in his belt, hoping that he would be able to return them to their owner soon.

He looked back towards his brothers when he heard one of them moan. He saw that Raphael was waking up. Donnie rushed over to help his brother to his feet, putting his brothers' arm around his shoulder for support.

"Here Raph, lean on me."

"Thanks bro, man that attack was brutal. Is Casey Okay?" Asked Raph, unaware of where he was.

"Casey? I don't know. Where were you when you were attacked?"

Raph looked around in confusion, "Where are we?"

"On a roof in the middle of the city." Don answered.

"Why are we on a roof? What's goin' on?" Raph was really confused and disoriented his brother noticed.

Donnie let out a big sigh, "Well, all I know is that you, me and Mikey were all caught by the Foot and brought here and for some reason they just left us here unharmed for the most part."

"Speak for yourself," was Raph's terse reply. "Is Mikey okay?"

"Yeah, but he sustained a nasty bump on the back of his head and it's gonna give him an equally nasty headache when he wakes up"

Raph gave his brother a grave look, "What happened here Donnie?"

Donnie didn't know what to say. For once he didn't have any answers. He simply replied, "I don't know" looking down, away from his brother's gaze ashamed that he didn't have the answers they all needed to know.

"Where's Leo?" The question came out in an accusing tone.

Don winced at Raph's question. He didn't know the answer to that one either. When he didn't answer, Donnie thought that his hotheaded brother would explode, but when he looked back into Raphs' eyes he didn't see the customary anger. Instead he saw a single tear sliding down a cheek. Its not like Raphael never cried, he did, but he rarely did it in front of his brothers.

"Raph, I don't know. I found Leos' katana lying on the ground next to his mask and…" Donnie paused, not knowing if he should voice his hypothesis and praying to any deity that might be out there that he was wrong, "… and I-I think that the Foot used us as bargaining chips to get to Leo."

Raph just stared at him, his mouth open in disbelief. "Are ya serious?"

"That's exactly what happened."

Both turtles turned to see Mikey standing up and rubbing the back of his head. "Except that Karai was directing the whole thing."

"How do you know this Mikey?" Don asked.

"Because I saw it all happen" Mikey went on to tell the others what he witnessed. The whole time he had his arms crossed over his plastron and his brows furrowed in a look with a seriousness his brothers have never known him to be capable of or even possess.

Donnie noticed right away that something was…different… with Mikey. The tone of his voice and the manner in which he was holding himself was not at all like him. A quick glance at Raph told Donnie that he too noticed this change in their normally happy-go-lucky brother.

"….and then Karai gave Leo an ultimatum, either he surrenders, or we die." After that they all stood in silence, trying to digest this information.

"Okay, the time for standin' 'round an' doin' nuthin' is over, time to go an' rescue Leo." Raph made an attempt to walk without Donnies' aid and fell on his hands and knees. Donnie once again went to help him back onto his feet. His brothers were used to his bad boy act by now and knew that Raph was really worried, as they all were, about Leo.

"No." Mikey stated.

"Wadda ya mean, no?" Raph asked, his voice dangerously quiet.

"Yeah Mikey, we have to go and rescue Leo." Donnie spoke with a surge of anger that he has never felt before. Frankly he was shocked at Mikeys' new attitude. After all Leo is their brother. What were they supposed to do, just leave him and let Karai do who knows what to him? But Mikey didn't even flinch at Donnies' tone, which was unusual for the turtle that always cringed when someone yelled at him.

Instead he answered with an eerie calm, "Raph needs medical attention and we need a plan to find out where they're keeping Leo. We're going to go back to the lair first." With that said Mikey started towards home. Silently, his brothers followed.

* * *

At an unknown location… 

Leonardo opened his eyes fully expecting to find a bright light shining down on him, but in its place there was only darkness. Nothing but pure darkness.

He was lying on a cold metal surface on an incline so he was almost in an upright position. His arms were pinned to his side by chains encircling the entire length of his torso. His feet were also chained. He tested his bonds by straining against them to see if he could find any slack or weakness. He couldn't. He finally gave up, figuring that he'd have to wait for an opening to try and escape.

A door to his left opened, light spilled in. Leo squeezed his eyes shut at the unaccustomed light. He forced them open just in time to see the silhouette of a single person enter the room before the door closed. Someone had entered the room, but they weren't in a rush to make conversation.

'_So what are they waiting for?'_ He thought anxiously.

She stared at her captive with the aid of night vision glasses. This new invention of Baxter Stockman's' gave the night seeing abilities without the bulkiness of the old goggles model. He, of coarse, couldn't see a thing even with his sharper than normal vision, at least normal for human standards.

She watched with pleasure spreading across her face at his feeble attempts of struggling against his bonds. Her smile widened when he gave up in defeat. _'I will break his spirit as well as his body for all the pain he has caused me.'_ Finally, her revenge was at hand. Her day of reckoning had come, and it was time to begin.

"Leonardo" The way she said his name sent a chill down his spine.

"Karai" he responded in a tone that he hoped sounded braver than he felt.

"Your façade does not fool me Leonardo"

"You're right, I'm at your mercy" His voice was void of emotion.

She laughed. "Mercy? Did you show mercy to my father? You will see no mercy from me!"

"So what are you waiting for?" He was frustrated, at himself and at this whole situation. How did he get himself into this?

"Why? Do you have other plans?" She asked sarcastically. Turning serious she added, "Do not worry Leonardo, I am not going to kill you….at least not yet."

"Yeah, that's what they all say" he replied as if dismissing her previous statement.

His whole attitude enraged her, but a thought suddenly occurred to her, _'He is trying to anger me so I will kill him sooner' _"Your attempts to make me angry will not work, turtle."

But he knew that he had gotten to her at least a little. She had always called him by name, never by turtle.

'_Enough of this, time to get started'_ "You are a fool Leonardo"

Fine, he would play her game for now. "Yeah, and why exactly is that?"

"You were a fool to think that I would forget the part that your brothers played in my fathers death."

Leos' eyes went wide when he comprehended her words. "NO! We had a deal, you swore that you would let them go." He strained against his restraints in a mixture of anger and fear in his voice.

She smiled at his sudden panic, "And I honored our deal, I spared your brothers. I said nothing about how long I would let them stay free, they too must pay."

"Then why let them go in the first place? Why bother with this game?" He asked trying to calm his growing fears.

"Do you really need to ask Leonardo?"

His response was a mere whisper. "If you harm my brothers I'll…"

"You will what? You will never leave here alive and you will never see your brothers alive again…" She opened the door but before she left she turned, "…but I might let you see their corpses." She smirked in satisfaction when she saw a tear slide down his cheek.

**

* * *

A/N: Yeah, reviews are optional but that doesn't mean that I don't want them. I do. Even if you hate the story I want to know, this is my first fan fiction and I want to know if I should write more stories or if I should quit while I'm ahead, so please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Okay here is the next chapter. I have no idea how long this story is going to be so bare with me. Time does skip ahead, but I tell you when. There is also some torture in this chapter, but not that bad, it'll get worse in later chapters. Enjoy!

IIIIIIIIII

Chapter 6

They were silent as they made their way back to the lair. It was slow going, owning in part to Raph needing assistance because of his injuries and also because they had to make sure that they weren't being followed. But those weren't the only reasons for their silence. They were still in shock. Even Mikey was quiet. Usually in situations like this he was the one to make a joke to lighten the mood and get everyone to stay optimistic, but the expected jibe never came.

They reached the lair with no problems. Donnie assisted Raph to the coach. Raph sat down without a fuss and Donnie left to retrieve supplies to take care of his injuries. Most of the cuts only needed to be cleaned up. Raph didn't even flinch when the sting of the disinfectant touched the wounds. Nor did he show that he felt the needle permeate his skin as Donnie stitched the few cuts that required such action.

In turn Donnie was on automatic pilot, treating Raphs injuries just as he had done for all his brothers many times before. When he finished he packed up the medical supplies and sat next to his brother on the coach as an uneasy calm settled over them.

Mikey watched as Donnie tended to Raph. He wasn't looking forward to telling Splinter what had happened. He didn't want to have to relive that horrible nightmare again. But it wasn't a nightmare, it was real, it had actually happened and Splinter deserved to know. He reluctantly knocked on his sensei's door.

"Enter" Mikey could easily hear the anxiety in his masters' voice.

He entered the room and kneeled keeping his gaze on the floor. He said nothing, but he didn't need to.

Splinter looked up to see Michelangelo kneeling before him. Relief and pleasure flooded his body at seeing his son home safe, but those feelings were immediately replaced by dismay, for Leonardo was the one who accounted for their above-ground exploits.

"What has happened my son?" His voice was not accusing or angry, but fearful. Mikey recounted his story for the second time that night starting with him being attacked after leaving Aprils' and ending with what they suspected Karai wanted them for.

As Mikey told his story, he kept his gaze downcast. There was no embellishment, no boasting, only the facts.

Splinter listened to the tale with a sadness growing in his heart. When Mikey finished with his tale, Splinter looked upon his youngest son, who was always the one to find humor in any situation and was the one who helped his brothers to stay optimistic in otherwise hopeless circumstances. The expression his son held now was very different from the normally jubilant turtle. The expression he now held was more reminiscent of Leonardo.

"My son" Mikey looked up and met his sensei's eyes, "It is not your fault. Leonardo did, what he thought, was the only solution to ensure your safety, and I believe that any of you would do the same." Mikey nodded.

"Yes sensei, I would in a heart beat."

"Go, your brothers need you now in this time of uncertainty." Mikey stood up, bowed and left without another word.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Mikey entered the living room to find Raph sitting in the coach starring off into space and Donnie pacing back and forth across the room. He went and sat down next to his brother. Raphael was the first to speak. "So how are we gonna find Leo?" His voice was oddly soft, barely above a whisper and it sounded…defeated. Raph was never one to accept defeat. Ever. Donnie stopped his pacing at the question, but said nothing as he resumed. Frustration and fury were quickly overtaking him. He was loosing control. He could feel the heat radiating off his skin as if his blood was boiling in his veins. He clenched his hands into fists. A loud growl escaped his throat as his fist connected with the wall. His chest was heaving with every breath he took.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Raph and Mikey by his side trying to calm and comfort him. For some reason this only made him even angrier. He shrugged his brothers' hand away. His brothers looked at him with concerned looks. Donnie rarely lost his temper.

"We've got to do something!" he said his voice low. Raph tried once again to calm his brother down, "Cool down bro, it's gonna be okay…"

"And how is that Raph?" Donnie cut him off. "Huh? Please tell me 'cause I don't see how."

Raph looked at his brother, knowing what he was thinking, because he was too, "It's not your fault Don, it's no ones fault."

"Of coarse it is Raph. Leo was taken because we were caught and used as leverage. This never would have happened if …"

"ENOUGH!" Mikey shouted. Donnie glared at him "Come on Donnie, yelling isn't going to help us get Leo back and neither is playing the 'what if' game. His life depends on us keeping it together."

Donnie abruptly felt all the anger melting away. He sighed, "All right, where do we start?" He looked at Raph expecting him to answer, but instead Mikey did. "For now we wait. Master Splinter is probably trying to find Leo on the astral plane. In the mean time, Donnie, get on your computer and search for any recent Foot activity and see if you can ascertain some likely places where they could be hiding out." Donnie nodded and turned towards his laptop, thinking on his way over, _'I didn't know Mikey had ascertain in his vocabulary, and he is sure acting weird. A lot like Leo actually. I didn't think he had it in him. I guess we've all underestimated him.' _Pushing those thoughts aside Donnie got to work.

Mikey watched Don as he walked over to his computer and turned it on. "What 'bout me?" Raph asked. This surprised Mikey. He wasn't used to his brothers looking to him for guidance and he never thought he'd hear Raph openly ask for advice, and meaning to take that advice to heart. "Uh, why don't you go lay down for a while? Once Donnie is done with his search we'll go and check out that roof for clues." Raph nodded and went off towards his bedroom.

Mikey then made his way to the dojo. Once there he sat down in the lotus position and closed his eyes in meditation. He needed to calm his mind so he'd be ready to help his brothers plan a rescue mission.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Leo knew that she left him with that…threat, as a means to let him know that his torment had only begun. He could handle any physical pain she bestowed upon him, he knew he could. It was the spiritual torment that would most likely cause his resolve to crumble.

He didn't know if he could come back from it again. Come back from the darkness that he barely escaped from the last time, when he was beaten to near death by the Shredders Elite ninja. The time he was too weak to help his family and friends defend against the Shredder himself. He had failed them. Or that is what he thought and so the darkness threatened to engulf him, but he managed to fight it off with the assistance of his brothers. He would have been lost if it had not been for them.

Leo allowed the tears to flow from his eyes at the thought of his brothers. He cried for the fear of never seeing them again, but at least they were alive and for that, he was thankful.

Leo expected for her to return with various painful looking tools meant to inflict the most amount of pain possible. But no, she did not return. He had no way to tell the passing of time in the lightless room. He wasn't given any food or water, but then again he really didn't expect any either.

He felt himself beginning to dose off despite himself, but he never made it to sleep. A mild shock ran through his body, bringing him back to full awareness. The shock wasn't painful, just irritating. At first he thought that he imagined it. Only when he kept getting shocked when he tried to sleep did he finally catch on. _'They must have implanted a devise on me when I was out to keep me awake. Why would it matter if I slept or not?'_

It felt like months since he slept last when in all actually it had only been about four days. In those four days no one has entered the room and no one has spoken to him. The shocks that kept him awake have had to increase in intensity to continue to fulfill their purpose. They were starting to become quite painful.

Without warning, the dark room became flooded with light. Leo squeezed his eyes shut in an attempted to shield himself from the sudden brightness, but the light penetrated thru his eye lids. He forced his eyes open when he heard the door unlock.

Karai entered followed by ten Foot ninja hand picked herself for this stage. She thought that they deserved a reward for their loyalty. Besides, this would help to break his spirit even further. Nothing shamed a warrior more than a humiliating defeat.

They glared into each others eyes. "Hello Leonardo"

When he didn't respond she continued, "I have decided to give you a chance to win your freedom." Leo's only response was to narrow his eyes. "If you defeat these ten ninja, you are free to go." Leo let out a huff of disbelief and rolled his eyes, looking away. He didn't believe her so called bargain for one minute.

Karai suspected as much. "Of course you have no choice in the matter." Leos eyes flicked back to hers, vehemence flashing within them. "You _will_ fight, or would you rather I kill you right now?" Her katana was pressed against his neck. Leo glared at her. Even if he did win, which was next to impossible in his current condition, she would never just let him go and he knew it.

The katana was pressed harder to his throat, drawing a thin line of blood. He knew what she was doing. She wanted to humiliate him as well as drain him of what little energy he had left. But like she said, he had no choice, so he nodded in acceptance of the challenge. Karai sheathed her sword.

"Release him" At her command tow Foot stepped up to Leo. One released the chain restraining his arms and the other released his feet. The stepped away leaving him to stand up on his own. As Leo slowly got off the table, he prayed his legs would hold him up. He didn't want to show how weak he really was. Thankfully his legs held his weight. He kept a hand on the table just for some extra support while he got used to standing again.

Leo didn't get much time to get his bearings however, because the Foot were rushing at him almost immediately. The fight was brutal. Due to his inactivity and lack of sleep, Leos' reflexes were slow and so he failed to dodge the first ninjas attack. The resulting kick knocked him back into the wall. Leo landed with a hard thunk. He grunted with the effort needed to stand back up. The Foot had formed a semi-circle around him. His back was against a wall, literally.

Leo wasn't about to give up so easily. He adopted a defensive position. He would show them what it was to be a _true_ ninja.

They attacked one by one planning to ware him down slowly. Leo defeated the first five with enormous difficulty, knocking them unconscious. He didn't escape unscathed though receiving just as many blows as he dealt. He was already sporting several bruises and blood trickled from his mouth. Luckily for him they weren't using any weapons, this being the only honorable thing about this fight.

Leos' plastron was heaving with his effort to get more oxygen into his lungs. They couldn't seem to get enough.

The remaining five ninjas charged, not giving much Leo time for a reprieve. He somehow managed to block the first few blows, but his defenses didn't last for long. A sweeping kick knocked him flat on his shell. Stunned, he didn't resist when two ninja grabbed his arms and pulled him up, holding him against the wall. The other three took turns hitting and kicking him. Leo could do nothing to stop it. He closed his eyes attempting to shut out the pain.

After what seemed like hours to him, Leo opened his eyes after they seemingly stopped. He instantly regretted it. A ninja was flying towards him, foot poised to deliver a powerful kick to his chest. The kick hit his mark. Leo was released by those who held him only to fall to his knees gasping for air. Leo recovered from the blow clutching his left side. His breath came in sharp, painful bursts. He recognized that he had several broken ribs.

"ENOUGH" Leo looked up at Karais' order to stop. The conscious ninja bowed to her, and retreated to stand behind her.

Leo spoke through gritted teeth, "You lost Karai" struggling against the pain to get the words out.

Karai laughed. "You are delusional, how could you possibly think that I have lost?"

"Because… you failed in your mission to break my spirit, and you will always loose that battle."

"And why is that turtle?" She was livid with anger, but she did not show it.

"Because unlike you, I still have honor and that is one thing you can never take away from me."

Karai said nothing. She only nodded to the ninja behind her. They seized Leo by the arms. He winced in pain as they pulled him up to his feet. Instead of taking him back to the table they dragged him to the nearest corner.

His hands were bound in front. They took the access chain and threw it up and around a steel beam near the ceiling. The pulled the so Leos' arms were raised above his head. This motion caused him to scream out in pain. The ninja continued to lift him up until his feet were just barely touching the ground. They still somewhat supported his weight, but his shoulders took the brunt of it. The strain this caused on his broken ribs was so intense that he couldn't help it as another scream of pain escaped him.

After he was secured, the ninja left the room, leaving Leo alone with Karai.

She walked up to him and stopped just inches from his face. Leo was in tremendous pain but he managed to speak anyway, "You can break my body Karai, but you won't break my spirit so easily."

"We will se how strong your spirit is when I lay your families' corpses before you. One. By. One."

Leo lunged towards her causing a new surge of pain to erupt from his left side. He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. Fresh tears made their way down his cheeks. Karai smile and simply turned and left.

IIIIIIIIII

**A/N: **So how'd it go? I know Raph, Donnie and MIkey are out of character, I meant for them to be, so let me know what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay here's the next chapter. It's been awhile since my last update, but I think it'll be worth the wait. Enjoy!**

IIIIIIIIII

Chapter 7

Donatello stalked into the lair followed closely by a sullen Raphael. Michelangelo was close on their heels, a soft but determined demeanor about him.

It's been two weeks. Two weeks since Leonardo was taken. Two weeks spent combing the city, searching for any sign of their absent brother or those that took him. No luck. There was no trace of Leo or the Foot. No one was even willing to think that Leo was dead. They couldn't, no, that's not right, they _wouldn't_ give up on him.

Their first plan to find where they were keeping Leo had failed. The plan was simple, find the Foot, and…convince one to tell them where Leo was. Actually, convince is too nice a word. Donnie actually put forward the idea, which struck the others as unnerving considering that Donatello was the passive turtle. The plan had failed miserably. It depended on being able to _find_ the Foot. The Foot were ninja, sure, but not in the same league as they were, so they should have been easy to find.

Not finding their prey left each turtle with a slightly more anxious feeling. How long could they expect Karai to keep Leo alive? She had claimed vengeance on him the night she took him, and Raph, Don and Mike all knew that meant a whole lot of pain and suffering on Leos part, but what they didn't know was how long Karai would wait before seeking what she deemed as justice for the death of the Shredder and kill him.

On the trek home they discussed the possibility that Karai knew they would do exactly this and decided to halt all Foot activity for the time being. It seemed plausible to them that she would.

It was time for a new plan. It was the first thing they had all agreed on in the past two weeks.

Things haven't been easy for any of them. They are dealing with this threat to their family in ways they hadn't expected, in ways they didn't think themselves capable of. Raph, usually the one to loose his temper and hide his feelings, was sulking around and hardly uttering a word, though at times his eyes flashed with a familiar anger. Donnie's behavior has slowly been returning to its normally passive manner, with the occasional heated outbursts. Bit by bit they were returning to their typical, normal selves, except Michelangelo. Mikey's behavior was perhaps the hardest to believe. He was taking the initiative and leading his brothers through this difficult time. Mikey, as a rule, tried his hardest to stay away from any and all responsibility, at least that's how his brothers have always seen it, but unlike his brothers, he wasn't letting up; not letting even a glimmer of his old jovial self show through and the others were beginning to take notice.

Often, when he was trying to get to sleep at night, Michelangelo would think about their odd behavior and why they were acting that way. Sure Leo's not the first of them to get captured, so why did it affect them like this? The answer was the same every time, because it was Leo. When a different brother was missing it was always Leo that came up with the strategies to retrieve their missing brother. It was Leo that always told them not to give up hope. It was always Leo that held them together in times like these. But Leo wasn't here, and when Mikey saw his other two brothers start to loose it, he tried his best to give them what was obviously missing.

"Mikey," Donnie's frustrated voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "…what now?"

That's another thing. His brothers looking to him for answers was something that Mikey had not really expected, but he guessed it came with acting like Leo, that his brothers would follow his lead just like they did Leos. They needed someone to lead them, just as they always had and for now, Mikey was filling that void.

Donnie and Raph looked at their brother, waiting for an answer.

Mikey had a back-up plan, but he hasn't told his brothers of it yet because he knew they would react badly to it, but he had no choice now, time was running out for Leo. The truth was that he had hoped that he wouldn't need to tell them about it, wouldn't need to put it in action, but deep down he knew it would have come to this eventually.

The time to act was now.

Mikey took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Alright, here's how it's gonna go…"

As he spoke, Donnie's permanent scowl, as of late, only got deeper.

"I know you don't like it, I don't either, but it's the only way." Mikey said, finishing his explanation of his plan.

All three turtles sat in silence at the kitchen table. Two had disbelieving looks on their faces with their jaws hanging open in shock.

"No way Mikey" Raph said with a hint of his old self shinning through. "There's no way in _hell _I'm givin' another brother to 'em. Donnie, " Raph turned to his purple wearing brother hoping for him to spew some of his logical reasoning to talk some sense into Mikey, "tell 'im that he's crazy and it won' work."

Donnie leaned back in his chair, hand on his chin thinking through every detail of Mikey's plan.

"The plan is sound Raph" He said hesitantly, looking from one brother to another, not sure which one to back up. Mikey's plan was outrageous, but it was their only hope. On the other hand Raph had a good point. Could they really risk the life of one brother in what could be only vain hopes of saving another? Donnie didn't have the answer, something that hasn't happened very often.

"You _can't_ be serious" Raphs gaze darted between his brothers. He couldn't decide who was crazier, Mikey for thinking up the plan or Donnie for backing him up. He was desperately trying to think of a way to talk them out of it.

"It's the only way Raph and you know it. Shell, we've pulled off more hair-brained schemes than this before."

"Mikey's right Raph" Donnie added.

"Yeah, I know…" Raph conceded. He continued to study his youngest brother. He was acting so grown up, taking the situation in stride. How often has he told Mikey to 'grow up'? Now all he wanted was for his happy, upbeat, jokester of a brother back. "…doesn' mean I have ta like it." He grumbled.

"Now that it's decided," Mikey took charge once again "go rest up. I'll call April and Casey, and fill them in along with Master Splinter." At the glares he was receiving he quickly added with a sigh "…and then I'll get some rest myself."

He looked at his brothers with fortitude, "We're getting Leo back _tonight_."

Donnie and Raph nodded in determined agreement. With nothing to do until later, they left for their respective rooms. They didn't sleep, but instead both just settled on lying down on their bed/hammock respectively and went over their part in the plan, so as to make sure they get it perfect when the time came.

As Splinter watched his sons talk in the kitchen he noticed that two of his sons were finally dealing with their feelings and coming to terms with them, but he was worried about the third. He watched as the older two left the kitchen and waited until the last one left as well before he made his presence known.

Soon after his brothers made for their rooms, Mikey left the kitchen as well, heading for the payphone in the living room when an all too familiar sound caused him to stop. The sound of Splinter clearing his throat sent bells ringing in his head. The 'we need to talk' insinuation in the sound was very clearly understandable. Mikey sighed in defeat, he knew his plan would work, he just knew it, but he worried that Splinter wouldn't approve. Mikey hesitantly followed his sensei into his room.

The room was simply furnished, only a bed and a bedside table. The rest of the décor consisted of candles, incense and a few wall hangings to add a personal touch. Splinter sat on a meditation mat and motioned for Mikey to seat himself on another.

"I overheard your plans Michelangelo…" Mikeys eyes snapped up and looked into understanding eyes, "…and I am proud of you. It is truly a clever and resourceful plan." Mikey couldn't believe his ears, this was made obvious by the look on his face. Splinter let out a small chuckle "Do not be so surprised my son, Donatello is not the only one among you that shows intelligence, though he does it in more…constructive ways." This elicited a smirk from the orange banded turtle.

Splinter continued, "I know of your need to put this plan in action not only for Leonardo, but for yourself as well." Mikey bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to cut off the tears that were threatening to fall. A furry hand lifted his chin. Mikey opened his eyes and looked into his fathers eyes. "I believe in you, my son. I always have and I always will." Mikey couldn't hold back the tears any longer, and then he did something he hadn't done in several years. Mikey embraced his father and let it all out. He sobbed until no more tears fell.

Knowing his son needed this, Splinter rubbed his sons back murmuring words of comfort and assurance he so desperately sought. When Michelangelo's sobs ceased, Splinter released him, looking into the eyes of his youngest. Mikey smiled. The first smile to cross his lips in weeks. It wasn't his usual exuberant smile, but it was a smile all the same.

"Thank you sensei…father"

Splinter returned the smile with a small one of his own as he watched Michelangelo leave to face his most difficult challenge yet. He only hoped that after it was all over and done with that his son would return to him. Both of them.

IIIIIIIIII

Leo had no idea how long it's been. At times it seems as if he has lived his whole life with the endless pain he felt, but he knew that wasn't true. He remembered his family, though those memories were few and far between. When he did remember, he held on to those memories as a life line. It was the memories of his family that kept him going, kept him holding on. The hope of seeing them again, the chance to once again argue with Raph, talk with Donnie, watch T.V. with Mikey, and meditate with Splinter gave Leo the strength to endure the never-ending torture.

It wasn't easy though. Old wounds would heal only to be replaced by new ones. At least now they allowed him to sleep between his 'sessions' and they even gave him bread and water every now and then.

Leo knew that Karai wanted to keep him alive for a long while, and as much as he would like to defy her by letting himself starve, he knew better and did what he had to do to survive. He owed his family that much.

Leo took a deep breath, wincing at the pain as his broken ribs had not yet fully healed, and looked at his surroundings. He was in a small room with very little space to move around in, which was fine because he hurt too much to move anyway. The walls, floor and ceiling were made of concrete. The door was the only part of the room that wasn't concrete. Instead it was made of solid steel. There were no comforts in his cell, no bed, not toilet, just cold emptiness surrounded him.

He was brought to this room for a 'respite' as Karai called it after each session. At first, his captors would chain him to the floor, hands restrained behind his back. They didn't bother with that now. He was too weak to attempt escape and they knew it. Even _if_ he managed to escape his cell, he had no clue where he was and would very likely be caught again before making it home, expending what little energy he had left in the process. So Leo never tried to escape. A part of him was disgusted with himself that he never even _tried_ and then the rational part of his brain would remind him that he is saving his strength for when his brothers would rescue him. He wouldn't let them down by being too weak to assist them when they came. They _would_ come right? It's been so long, that sometimes he…No. They would come for him, he had _no_ doubt.

The clink of his cell door being unlocked brought him out of his thoughts, his only refuge, and back to reality. The door opened and Leo wasn't surprised when Karai entered with only two Foot Ninja behind her. The ninjas strode over to him and pulled him to his feet. They continued to hold him up and Leo was grudgingly thankful because he could no longer stand on his own and he did not want to show how weak he really was.

"How are you doing this morning Leonardo?" Karai inquired

'_It's morning?'_ He thought, for there were no windows and he couldn't tell the difference between night and day.

He pushed those thoughts away, staying focused on the person in front of him.

He repeated her question in his head and inwardly rolled his eyes at her 'concern' for his well being. This is always how she began her sessions with him. He kept his face stoically expressionless,

"Peachy" he answered mockingly.

He didn't see the punch coming. The ninja on his left hit Leos jaw, knocking him to the ground. Leo hit it hard. As they hauled him once again to his feet he realized that his jaw was broken. The same ninja that sucker punched him, reprimanded him as well,

"You will show Mistress Karai the respect she deserve, freak."

Leo spit out the blood that was filling his mouth and even though it hurt like shell to do so, he responded anyway,

"I thought I was" he said using as little motion as possible, but still getting the words out.

Leo flinched as he saw the ninja prepare for another blow,

"Stop" Karai commanded, "we have wasted enough time." She looked into Leos eyes. He just glared back, putting all his hatred for her into his eyes. It must have worked because she quickly looked away.

"Bring him"

She turned and proceeded out the door and down the hall. The ninjas dragged Leo behind her when they followed for he could no longer walk. He tried to steady himself as they dragged him to the room of his living nightmares.

IIIIIIIIII

Once again the three brothers sat at the kitchen table, but this time Don, Raph and Mike were joined by April and Casey. Splinter had opted to stay out of the meeting. His reasoning was that he did not wish to be in their way. Of course everyone protested, but in the end they respected his decision.

"So that's the plan, any questions?" Mikey inquired, looking around at the faces encircling the table.

Raphs response was to pull out his sais and twirl them expertly, "Let's do this"

"We're ready Mikey" Donnie nodded in agreement.

"Behind ya 100 percent" was Casey's two cents

All eyes turned to April. She quietly swallowed her nerves and said with confidence and determination, "Let's get this party started"

IIIIIIIIII

**A/N: I'm thinking one, maybe two chapters left, and I have a twist in the next one so keep your eyse peeled for my update (hopefully to be up in a few weeks, sorry to make you wait, but college has priority, not to mention that I have another story that needs an update) As always please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, but school comes first and for the same reason, don't be surprised if I don't update for s couple of weeks, finals are coming up, but after that I'll have all the time in the world to write.**

**P.S. This goes for my other story as well, (which I haven't updated in forever, AAAGH!) but that one is next on my list.**

**Enjoy!**

IIIIIIIIII

Chapter 8

They reached the door that led to Leonardo's hell, but before Karai opened it, she paused. With her hand poised on the handle, she half turned, speaking over her shoulder to him,

"I have a surprise for you today." Her devilish smirk told Leo that this was it. This was the day she was going to end it, to kill him.

In all honesty he didn't know if he felt relieved or scared. No more pain, no more suffering, it sounded so…nice. But it also meant death. He didn't want to die, he wasn't ready.

When the door opened and he got a good look inside, his breath hitched and fear came over him. For there, standing by the table in the middle of the room was none other than Bishop, the same man who has been trying to get his hands on him and his brothers for years. He has always wanted to know what makes them tick, what makes them who they are, and to do that he needs a specimen to dissect. Leo gulped. He finally has his specimen and the sickly grin on his face shows it.

The two Ninja dragged Leo to the metal table and strapped him in. A strap at the shoulders, one mid-abdomen, and another mid-thigh held him down. More at the ankle and wrist level with individual straps to restrain his feet and hands, made sure that he wouldn't be able to move, not that he had the strength to escape even if he wanted to, and he _did_ want to, now more than ever.

Leo looked to Karai, who was standing next to Bishop, "What is this? I thought you wanted to finish me off yourself."

"I still hold that privilege, but why should I deny someone the opportunity to satisfy their scientific curiosity?" She replied haughtily.

"What's in it for you?" Leo asked. He knew Karai wouldn't team up with Bishop if she didn't get something in return.

"Besides having the pleasure of watching him dissect you while you are still alive to feel the pain?" A smile as grim as Bishop's was crossed her face. Leo had a sick feeling as to where this conversation was headed.

"I have the satisfaction that you and your wretched family will not get in my way ever again." She turned and left the room before Leo had a chance to respond.

"We meet again" Bishops words brought Leo's attention back to the tall man in the black suit and tie. Leo glared at him.

"Now before we get started with the dissection, we have some … business to settle."

"What business?" Leo asked, although he already had a pretty good idea on what Bishop wanted..

"The location of your brothers and that rat who raised you."

Leo started to chuckle, "Do you really believe that I would _ever _tell you where they are?"

"Not voluntarily, but this makes it much more fun." Bishop answered.

"Why do you want them? You already have me." Leo asked.

"There is simply too much I wish to…investigate. _One_ specimen is simply not enough."

Leo didn't respond. He only turned his head so he was no longer looking at Bishop. He was planning something, but what ever it was Leo wouldn't make it easy for him. He couldn't give in to this _maniac_, who thinks himself a hero by ridding the planet of alien threats. Threats he actually creates himself!

And so the morning was spent using various techniques often employed by the military to get the reptile to talk. Bishop presumed it would be easy to get the location of the others considering that the creature was already very weak. He was wrong. He was usually never wrong. He hated being wrong. He _would_ get this…freak to talk. After all, he was only an animal and couldn't possibly hold up against the devices of a superior being such as him. The technique Bishop was currently trying was the electromagnetic shock method.

Leo couldn't help but scream out as Bishop used the shock stick yet again. He could smell his own burnt flesh and feel the blisters that were forming. Bishop knew where to go to get the most pain, the soles of the feet, between his toes, the space on his side between his plastron and shell, and the neck, but he didn't stop there. Leo's whole body was now covered in burns and blisters. After every shock Bishop would ask where his family was hiding. Leo would say nothing, keeping his mouth shut.

Then, all of a sudden it all stopped it stopped. Leo thought that Bishop had left and opened his eyes only to see Bishop standing over him. He did not look pleased.

Bishop was furious, though he didn't show how upset he really was. He stared at the turtle, watching it breathe. The breaths came shallow and ragged. He would have to hurry if he wanted the creature to be alive for the dissection, it didn't have much more time.

"I commend you, turtle. Not many could have resisted, as you have in your condition. Hmm, perhaps it's another result of your mutation? I'll have to look into that." He commented as he jotted something down on a note pad he pulled out of an inside pocket.

"Maybe I will use the orange one to determine that. Michelangelo is his mane, correct?" He added as he replaced the notepad, hoping to get a rise out of the turtle.

At the mention of his brothers name Leo strained against the straps, hands squeezing into fists. A growl escaped his throat. "You won't _touch_ him"

"Temper, temper. I'll have to see if I can't fix that. Raphael has a temper too if I recall. I'll use him to see if that kind of response can be avoided." He said as he once again pulled out the notepad and scribbled more notes.

"What are you planning?" Leo asked. He had the feeling that Bishop was once again up to something and that something would probably end up threatening the entire planet.

"Oh, I plan on creating an army, using the same mutagen that created you, to protect the planet from alien threat, but I obviously have some refinements to make. I need my soldiers to be strong and obedient. To do that I need to find out how it affected each of you individually. Now tell me where they are!"

"Never" Leo growled out, determination laced his voice.

"Still refusing? Fine, I can go on like this for as long as it takes. Time for something else I think." As soon as he spoke, two Foot Ninja, who never left them room, stepped up to the table. They undid the straps holding him down and pulled him over to where a container full of water was sitting. Leo was forced to his knees as his hands were bound behind his back.

Without hesitating, his head was shoved into the water. He struggled at first out of pure panic, but struggling was useless. Strong arms held him down and in his weakened state he couldn't resist. His lungs burned with the need to take a breath

Just when he thought he was going to drown, he was pulled out. Leo gasped for air, but was immediately pushed back down, causing him to inhale water. He choked and gagged which caused him to ingest even more water.

Once again he was pulled out before he could drown, coughing and gasping for air.

Bishop grabbed his chin forcing him to look into his eyes, "Where are they!?" He demanded. His eyes held a fierce fire that Leo has only seen once before, but in Raphael's eyes when he had lost control and almost bashed Mikey's skull in with a pipe.

Leo spit in Bishops face in reply. He was rewarded with more, longer dunks in the cold water. Each time Bishop pulled him out he asked the same question, and each time Leo refused to answer.

Bishop, realizing he wasn't getting anywhere with this method either, called a halt.

"Get him back on the table. As fun as this has been, it's time to get serious." Leo hissed as the cool water reached his burns, causing them to sting.

As he was being strapped back onto the table, Leo saw Bishop pull an extremely large needle out of his pocket. His eyes widened, he knew what was coming, not to mention that he hated needles.

"You should sing like a canary after I administer this." Bishop said as he plunged the needle into Leo's neck. Leo's eyes squeezed shut at the painful prick of the needle. It probably wouldn't have been that painful if it wasn't for his total exhaustion plus all the torture that he's been through has decreased his pain threshold.

"Don't worry, it will only take a few moments to take affect." He heard Bishop say.

Leo couldn't let this happen. He couldn't give up the location of his family. The only way he could think of preventing a slip was to go into a deep meditation, to escape to the astral plane. There his mind would be separate from his body and Bishop wouldn't be able to get any response out of him, no matter what drugs he used. But he didn't know how long he would be able to remain on the astral plane or if it would be long enough, he only knew he had to try. So he closed his eyes and focused his mind…

IIIIIIIIII

They had all decided to roll out in one hour's time, so everyone left the kitchen table to get themselves ready…

**Donatello and April:**

Donnie headed into his lab with April in tow. Wordlessly he started to gather some essential items they would need. He grabbed surveillance equipment, his lap-top, tracking devices, extra ninja throwing stars and other such items they will need. He then packed each item carefully into his duffle bag.

April stood in the doorway watching her friend with concern clearly written on her face.

"Donnie?" Her voice was soft, as if unsure if she should say anything at all.

"Don" She said his name again, louder this time, when he didn't respond. He turned around, "What?" He asked.

"Don't you 'what' me Donatello, you know perfectly well 'what'." She crossed her arms across her chest as if saying 'try me'.

At that moment he let all the hurt and worry he's been hiding, show through. "I-I…"

"It'll be okay Donnie" April said trying to offer some comfort to her obviously distraught friend. He, who normally was one to provide reassurance to others, was in desperate need of some himself right now.

The purple banded turtle only nodded in response to his friend's words. He wanted so badly to believe them, but…

April crossed the room and gently turned him so he was facing her. For a moment they just stared into the others' eyes. Her eyes were now brimming with tears. April embraced him and he returned the hug, needing the release. They just stood there, hugging each other, comforting each other, both letting the tears flow unchecked.

**Raphael**

Raph made his way to the dojo, just out of shear habit. He found himself standing in front of the old beat up punching bag, held together mostly by duct tape. He just stared at it, at the object that has always served as his release for his angry outbursts. Raph realized that he hadn't stepped foot in this room since it happened. Since Leo was taken away from them, from him, right under their noses.

He should have been furious, should have lost his temper. That's the way everyone would expect him to react, but he didn't, and he had no idea why he wasn't, furious that is. But now, now is a different story. Now he could feel the familiar rage boiling inside of him once again, and with a fury he has had yet to show, he attacked the bag.

Punch after punch, kick after kick, Raph only got more ferocious. All the anger he didn't even realize he had buried, came to the surface. He gave the bag one last kick, breaking the chain that it hung from and sending it flying until it hit the opposite wall and fell to the floor with a thump. His chest heaved with the effort to breath and not just from the strenuous workout he just finished. Raph exited the dojo, not quite sure what to do, only that he didn't want to be there anymore. Not without him.

**Casey**

Casey left the lair with a mission. It was his job to find a vehicle suitable for the mission. The Battle Shell was too recognizable. He knew it had to be big enough to fit two giant turtles and two humans, plus all the equipment they'd have to bring along and still have room for two more turtles who would be joining them. _'Hopefully'_ Casey thought._ 'No. They WILL make it. Mikey won't fail.'_

He was driving around the city, quickly getting frustrated with the lack of options.

"Damn it. A van's too small an' a semi is too freakin' big and obvious too. What am I suppo…." His voice trailed off as he spotted a U-Haul Rental center. A huge smile crossed his face. "Perfect." He pulled into the parking lot. The medium sized truck immediately caught his eye. At 25 feet long and 12 feet high, it would be roomy, yet inconspicuous. It was ideal.

He ran to the office. It was 5:07pm, seven minutes after closing time. He reached the door and tried the handle. It was locked. _'Shit!'_ He mentally cursed. He could always hot-wire a truck if he had to and damn the consequences. Movement inside caught his attention, "Hey," he yelled as he banged his fist on the glass "I need to rent a truck."

The man walked up to the door, "We're closed, come back tomorrow." He turned away, heading back to his desk.

"Come on man, it's an emergency, please," Casey cried out desperately.

"What kind of emergency?" The man asked.

Casey paused. How much information should he divulge? "A friend a mine's in trouble an' I _need_ that truck. Please, it's a matter of life an' death."

The man looked at the other mans face. He was afraid and worried, that was obvious. He only sighed as he unlocked the door and let the man inside…

**Splinter**

Even though he did not attend the meeting, he knew the plan. Michelangelo had informed him what he planned to do and how he would do it. Splinter had confidence in his son, but he still wished that he could join him. The fact was that he was still weak from their encounter with the Shredder and he would only be a hindrance. Michelangelo needed to concentrate and he couldn't do that while worrying about him. What ever is meant to be will work itself out, such is fate.

**Michelangelo**

Mikeys mind was racing by the time he reached his room. His part in the plan would be, by far, the toughest one and the most difficult to perform. He was starting to doubt himself and his ability to pull it off. He shook his head to get rid of that train of thought, _'I can do this. I _have_ to do this. For Leo."_

He was never one to meditate outside of training, but he figured it couldn't hurt and it would help pass the time until Casey returned. He sat down on his floor (after he cleared a spot) and assumed the lotus position. He took deep breaths in through his nose and let them out slowly through his mouth.

Once he made it into a deep sate of meditation, he felt a familiar presence on the astral plane. He didn't believe it at first, but the familiarity persisted. He took the extra step and crossed over into the astral plane.

"Leo?" He called out.

"Mikey?" The response was quiet, almost hesitant.

Mikey whirled around to find his eldest brother pushing himself off of the ground. Mikey was at his brothers side in an instant.

"Leo!"

The two brothers embraced each other. Then Mikey pulled away with confusion on his face.

"Master Splinter has been trying to find you ever since you were taken. How come you never came here before now?"

"Because I…I was too weak then and I still am but…" Leo dropped his gaze from his brother.

"But what Leo?" Mikey could sense that something was wrong.

"I have the strength now because…Bishop's here Mikey and he injected me with something to make me tell him where the lair is and this is the _only_ way to be sure I don't let anything slip."

"Bishop? Why's he there?" Mikey asked, surprised at hearing that name.

"Why do you think?" Leo asked in return, speaking a little harsher than he intended. Upon seeing the hurt look on his younger brothers face his features softened, "Sorry Mike, I'm…"

"No worries bro. You just need to hang on a little longer. I've got a plan to…"

"No Mikey," Leo cut him off and falling right into his 'I'm-the-older-brother-and-you-have-to-listen-to-me' role, "you can't, it's too dangerous with Bishop here. You'd be walking right into his hands."

"Sorry Leo, but that's one order that I refuse to follow."

"Fine, but you'd better hurry. Bishop, he…he plans to…to" Leo couldn't bring himself to tell Mikey what Bishop had planned for him.

"Hey it's gonna be okay bro. He won't get the chance." Mikey knew what Leo was trying to say and why he couldn't say it. He was just trying to protect him, just like always.

Leo started to fade. He was loosing the ability to stay in the astral plane.

"Just hold on Leo and stay strong. You'll make it through, we all will, I promise."

"I love you Mikey" Leo managed to say at the last moment before he disappeared completely.

"Love ya too bro." Mikey whispered before he too left the astral plane.

IIIIIIIIII

Leonardo awoke to see an extremely pissed off Bishop standing over him.

"I do not know how you pulled that off. That was the most powerful truth serum we've managed to develop. Obviously your mutation leaves you with more resilience than I thought, but no matter. I'll find the others eventually." His face broke out into a wide smile, one that Leo didn't like the look of one bit.

IIIIIIIIII

**A/N: Next chapter the plan will be revileved and the rescue mission is underway, so stay tuned!**

**Oh, and please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Greetings from Georgia! I'm here visiting my cousin and having a great time. I've floated the Chatahoochi River and seen some awesome thunderstorms so far. Anyways sorry for the long wait. I had thought that now that it was summer and I was out of school that I'd have more time to write, but that just isn't the case and besides I'm not a hard core writer that the majority of you seem to be so, yeah that's my excuse. But hay, it's here now so enjoy!**

IIIIIIIIII

Chapter 9

It took Casey about 45 minutes to return with a suitable truck. Everyone helped in loading the equipment and supplies, ready to roll after ten minutes. Splinter bid his sons and their companions farewell and wished them luck, hoping all would return home safe. After the truck was out of sight of the ware house, Splinter let out a poignant sigh, stepping into the elevator that led back down to the lair and began what was sure to be a long and arduous wait.

The atmosphere in the truck was thick with anxiety and concern. Mikey had informed them of his encounter with Leo on the astral plane. While everyone was ecstatic that Leo was still alive, the risk factor of the mission had gone off the scale with Bishops unexpected involvement. Without trepidation, they all agreed to continue despite this setback. Thankfully their plan needed very little alteration to still be successful.

"Okay guys," Mikey spoke up, hating prolonged silences, "let's go over this one more time." He received no objections. "You will drop me off a block away and then you'll park the truck in the alley across from the Saki building. I go in and find Leo while Raph and Casey will shadow my position from the outside, serving as back up while Donnie and April track my position from the truck and act as emergency back up if we need it. Now when I give the signal,"

"Me 'n Case come crashin' in and bust some heads." Raph cut in, cracking his knuckles threateningly showing everyone just how anxious he was to get this thing done and his brother back home safely.

A ghost of a smile played Mikeys lips, a bit of his old self breaking through.

Raph caught the smile and gave his baby brother a small one of his own.

"I still don' get how yer gonna find Leo by yourself though." Raph commented.

"Yeah," agreed Don "How are you going to pull that off?"

"That's easy bro," Mikey replied as a huge smile spread across his face, "Karai herself is gonna take me to him."

Everyone stared at him dumbfounded with their jaws hanging open, even April who was driving the truck. She had to swerve to avoid hitting a parked car and that jolted the others out of their stupor. They all started talking at once which caused Mikey to burst out laughing at their antics.

"This ain't funny Mikey, this is serious." Raph reprimanded.

"Yeah, how in the hell are ya gonna get Karai to take ya to Leo?" Casey asked.

"That..." Mikey said as he leaned back in his seat, hands behind his head, "…is a surprise."

Raph scoffed at Mikeys refusal to let them in on his plans. He stood up and started to make his way towards his youngest brother to force it out of him but Donnie stopped his hot-headed brother.

"Raph's right, we can't and won't, let you go in there without a plan." Don said.

"Oh but I do have a plan Donnie my boy and it all depends on my superb acting skills." Mikey answered as he playfully buffed his nails on his plastron.

Raph and Donnie looked at each other, then at Mikey and back at each other. Both spoke at the same time, "We're doomed" they said with artificial dread lacing their voices.

The brotherly banter continued, releasing the tension they had all felt building itself up over the past two weeks, until they reach the drop-off point. They now felt that they could get the job done. They were going to save Leo.

IIIIIIIIII

Mikey ran across the rooftops of New York City until he came to a building that sat next to his objective, the Saki building. He stopped and stood there for a moment, one foot resting on the ledge. Mikey just stared out at the city that he and his brothers had put onto themselves to defend. In an instant he recalled all that they have been through in those past few years; The Foot, Shredder, aliens, invasion, mutants, time travel and no matter what they'd been through or the injuries they sustained, Mikey couldn't help but feel it had all been worth it to protect the city that he loved and its people. But this time the price was too high and he wasn't going to pay it.

With a determined sigh he set his bag he had over his shoulder down and opened it. Inside was all that he needed for the mission. The first items he pulled out were his weapon of choice, his nunchaku. He placed them in their customary place between his belt and plastron.

Next he pulled out the tracking device Donnie designed specially for the occasion. It was small, the size of a watch battery. Donnie made it from Utrom technology and was positive that no one would be able to trace it but him. Mikey secured the devise under the lip of his shell where it would be out of sight.

Then he pulled out another small gadget, about the size of a dime. This would serve as a one way communiqué. His brothers would be able to hear him and those speaking around him, but Mikey would not be able to hear them. Needless to say, that made the others nervous and they tried to get Mikey to wear a regular ear piece, but he fervently said no. For one he didn't want his brothers in his head the whole time and two, an ear piece could be easily spotted and identified and would jeopardize the mission. He placed this devise on his right temple, where it would be hidden by his mask.

'_Now for the finishing touch'_ Mikey thought as he reached in and pulled out his last items. In his hand were two pieces of cloth. One red and the other purple, his brothers spare masks. His brothers had definitely been confused when Mikey had asked for their spare masks and when they asked why he needed them he only told them that they'd have to wait and see.

He tied Raph's blood red mask on his left bicep and Donnie's royal purple on his right. With his preparations complete he spoke aloud with fervor and determination,

"I'm goin' in"

IIIIIIIIII

"_Now the fun can begin…" _

"Since I already possess samples of your DNA," Bishop said as he wheeled a cart over to sit in Leo's line of vision, "all I need now is to retrieve samples from your muscles, tissues and internal organs." He lifted the cloth that covered the cart to reveal a try full of surgical tools including scalpels and others that Leo didn't know the function for.

Leo remained silent with a stoic expression refusing to show his fear, but his heart thudding against the inside of his chest and his quickened breath gave him away.

Bishop caught Leo's reaction, "Ah yes, you have good reason to be frightened turtle. I am afraid that I cannot administer an anesthetic, for it would influence my results." This was said with mock distress and concern. It was not lost on Leo.

Leo was really getting weary of all of Bishops 'big talk' and just wanted to get it done and over with.

"Just do it already." He sighed, exasperated.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, didn't your father teach you that patience is a virtue?" Bishop replied as he calmly picked up a scalpel and turned it over watching the light glint off the reflective metal.

Leo's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched tight. Bishop really knew how to push his buttons.

When Leonardo didn't react in the way Bishop was hoping, he continued, "Fine then."

Without another word, Bishop brought the scalpel to Leo's left shoulder and made an inch long incision. Blood leaked out from the wound as Bishop looked for a reaction from his 'patient'. Seeing none he proceeded with slight disappointment. He continued to cut a swatch of Leo's skin and placed the sample in container for later study.

Leo didn't watch or even react as Bishop cut into his shoulder. He put all his focus and concentration into a screw he spotted in the ceiling, but it did little to block out the pain he felt. The sharp pain in his shoulder was replaced with a duller, throbbing pain but he felt a new sharp pain in the middle of his chest and knew that Bishop was now taking a sample of his plastron. That pain too changed into that of a throbbing pain once Bishop was through.

Next Bishop picked up what looked to Leo to be an extremely large needle and in a sense it was. The tool had the diameter of a pencil, but was two feet long. Bishop plunged the tool into Leo's abdomen and this time Leo couldn't suppress a scream from the massive amount of pain. Sweat spilled out of his pores even though the air was cool around him.

Leo felt, rather than saw, Bishop slide another instrument into the first one and he cringed as he felt sharp sting coming from inside his body. From what little he knew about his anatomy, it was probably his kidney.

Bishop repeated he same pattern for all of the turtles major organs, save for the heart, including his spleen, gall bladder, pancreas, liver, prostate, and testicles. Next Bishop moved on to harvest samples from the turtles muscles and tissues, including the lungs and stomach.

Bishop didn't bother to bandage the wounds he gave Leo, so his blood was free to spill onto the table and floor.

When Bishop was finally finished, Leo had many holes adorning his body.

As Bishop removed his rubber gloves, Leo spoke through gritted teeth, "Sure you didn't forget anything?" He asked sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm not done quite yet." Bishop replied.

Leo inwardly groaned, _'What else could he want?'_

"But," Bishop continued as he released Leo from his restraints, "I do require full access to your carapace."

'_Duh' _Leo thought to himself, _'Of coarse he wants a sample of my shell.'_

Bishop just stood there as if expecting him to just obediently roll onto his stomach and graciously give him his shell.

"Sorry, but you'll have to roll me over yourself." Leo quipped.

An idea struck Bishop. One that would give him great satisfaction while humiliating the turtle at the same time.

He smiled his evil smile, "I'll make a deal with you,"

Leo looked at Bishop with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

"If you can make it to the door on your own two feet, without faltering, then I will let you go, without resistance from me or Karai's forces."

Leo snorted in disbelief, "Why should I believe you?"

"You don't have to take me up on my offer of course." Bishop said shrugging.

Leo silently debated with himself. Bishop was most likely lying, or he didn't believe that Leo could pull it off and just wanted to watch him fail, which, the more he thought, the more Leo agreed that this was the most likely reason for Bishops offer. Leo didn't want to give him the satisfaction, but being the person he was, he couldn't just give up without trying.

With great effort and much pain, Leo managed to sit up, and moved his legs so they hung over the edge of the table. He was dizzy from all the blood he'd lost, so he took a deep breath before gently sliding off the table. Leo didn't know how, but his legs supported his weight, albeit shakily. He miraculously managed a few steps before his legs gave out, sending him crashing to the floor onto his stomach. His chest heaved from the effort he exerted as he lay on the floor.

Bishop laughed. "You are pathetic."

Leo tired to push himself back up but he didn't have the strength and only managed to push himself up about a foot off the floor before he collapsed once again.

Bishop squatted down beside Leo and whispered softly in his ear, "You will never leave this room alive."

He then called in two Foot soldiers and directed them to haul Leo back to the table. They laid him face down on the table replacing the restraints at his wrists and ankles. Leo's eyes were closed from exhaustion but they snapped open when he heard the unmistakable sound of a saw being powered up. Unfortunately, Leo opened his eyes only to see Bishop holding the saw. He knew what that was for and turned his head away as Bishop brought the saw to his shell.

By the time Bishop was done, there was blood spatter everywhere because, contrary to popular belief, turtle shells do bleed when injured, and they also contain nerve endings so the procedure was very painful for Leo.

Bishop set his sizable chunk of carapace (a wedge of 3 inches long and 2 inches wide) aside and set the saw down.

Leo was relieved that it was all over. He was spent and he just wanted it all to be over, so Leo was horrified to hear another, softer but unfamiliar, tool being powered up. Even though he was terrified of what he would find, Leo looked back towards Bishop. In his hands Leo saw a drill. A drill one would find at a construction site or in a tool box.

"This I will be using to collect my final sample." Bishop said as if he were reading Leo's mind. "I will be drilling a hole in the middle of your shell down to your spine where I will collect some of your spinal fluid. Of course," Here Bishop paused and looked Leo directly in the eyes, "there is always the risk of paralysis with this procedure. But you won't be needing the ability to walk any more anyways."

Leo was taken aback of course, but he couldn't muster up any strength to care or even give an intelligent response, so he just remained silent.

Without further ado, Bishop proceeded to drill into Leos' shell.

Leo let out an agonizing scream. After all that he has suffered, this was by far the worst. The pain was so blinding, that coupled with his exhaustion and extensive blood loss, Leo lost the fight with consciousness. His eyes started to close. As he slipped into oblivion, he had a sinking feeling that he would not be waking up again.

IIIIIIIIII

Michelangelo walked in through the front door, forgoing with the stealth a ninja usually employs. He needed a more…direct approach. Upon his entry, Mikey was met with Foot soldiers. Not too many for him to handle by himself, so he decided that kicking their butts would get him noticed, and kick their butts he did.

He didn't even have time to put away his weapons before he was surrounded by the Foot Elite with their weapons pointing at him, mere inches from his skin.

Not far behind, Mikey was further surrendered by fifty more Foot Ninja. Even if he wanted to, Mikey would not be able to fight his way out alone and make it out alive. Good thing he didn't want to.

"To what do I owe the honor of your company?"

Mikey looked up to the second level balcony to find Karai standing there with even more Foot soldiers around her. Her features held no emotion; no anger at his infiltration, nor any surprise at his sudden appearance.

"You know exactly why I'm here Karai." He shouted up to her.

"Yes, Leonardo, but where are the others? Surely even you are smart enough not to attempt a rescue without your brothers-"

Karai didn't finish her sentence before Mikey angrily cut her off, "My brothers are _dead_ Karai; you _killed_ _them_."

Karai scowled down at her foe, "What trickery are you trying to pull turtle? Are you serving as a decoy while your brothers locate Leonardo?"

"I wish, but no, they're _dead_ and it's all because you couldn't face the fact that your _father _was evil and that Leo did the world a favor when he killed him." Mikey shouted angrily and stepped forward as if getting ready to attack Karai, but he was stopped when an Elitist's weapon threatened to punch a hole through his plastron.

"You lie. I left the three of you on the roof top unharmed when Leonardo surrendered to me."

"Unharmed," Mikey feigned disbelief, "you call having your flunkies beating Raph to within an inch of his lie unharmed? He bled out from internal injuries."

"Surely Donatello," She attempted to acknowledge, but was once again cut off by the irate turtle.

"Yeah, Donnie probably could have saved Raph if _you _hadn't given him too much of that stuff you used to knock us all out. He never even woke up." Mikey continued to glare up at Karai as she seemed to be deciding if what he said was true.

'_If she doesn't buy this, I'm turtle soup' _

"I am sorry Michelangelo. It was not my intention to cause Donatello or Raphael any harm. My revenge was meant only for Leonardo."

Mikey mentally sweat dropped, _'Whew'_

"Yeah, well your good intentions aside, I want to see my last remaining brother. If he's still alive that is. If he isn't, I request that you give me his remains. I want my brothers to be buried together." _'Hope I'm not too late'_

"Leonardo still lives" Karai reluctantly replied.

"I want to see him" Mikey insisted.

Karai contemplated the request. If what he said was true, then it was reasonable. She knew this turtle to play the fool and clown around at nearly all their meetings and did not believe him capable of committing a façade of this magnitude and he was wearing the bands of his brothers, a sign of remembrance and an honoring of the dead.

"Hand over your weapons, and…you must swear on your honor that you will leave without a fight when _I _command." She stated her stipulations with a slight reluctance.

"Agreed" Mikey replied.

**A/N: Ain't I just a stinker? Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. I won't bother you with they many, many valid reasons for this delay. But if you must know you are welcome to contact me and I would be happy to fill you in on my busy life. On a different note, I have absolutely no idea how many more chapters this story will have. It will have at least one more, maybe two. Hope you enjoy!**

IIIIIIIIII

Chapter 10

"This is crazy Raph," Casey stated as the two climbed the fire escape to reach the roof of their target building. "It won' work."

"Gee thanks for the vote 'a confidence Case. It's only my little bros' ass on the line in there. Not ta mention Leo's."

Although he wasn't a fan of the plan either, Raph felt that he had to stick up for Mikey. It was an older brother thing.

"Ah, come on man, I didn't mean it like that. It's just…" Casey struggled to find the right words. If it were any other time and any other situation, Raph would find amusement in watching his friend fumble.

"Yeah bro, I know."

The rest of the climb was completed in mutual silence. Setting up for their surveillance was also done in calmness that was usually lost on them both. Casey pulled out two pairs of binoculars and headsets, to keep in touch with Donnie and April as well as keeping tabs on Mikey, while Raph readied a cross bow and rope for when they were needed to crash the party.

Binoculars in hand and headsets in place, Raph checked in with Donnie, "Yo Donnie, ya there bro?"

"I'm here Raph. You and Casey good to go?"

"Yeah, we're ready, how 'bout you two?"

"My equipment is up and running. Mikey has activated the tracking devise and I have him on radar. All systems are a go."

Both groups settled into an uneasy stillness. The wait wasn't long before they heard Mikey over their connection, "I'm goin' in."

"Good luck Mikey." Raph said and even though he knew that Mikey couldn't hear him, but he believed that his little brother got the message anyway.

IIIIIIIIII

"_I'm goin' in."_

Don listened to Raph's wish of luck and he silently added his own. He too had his concerns about Mikeys plan, but he didn't voice those concerns for a stupid, superstitious fear of having them coming true. If Mikey's plan failed, then he could loose two brothers. Leo was the oldest, the leader and Mikey was the glue that held them all together. Donnie knew that the family would fall apart without them. He quickly shook his head to rid himself of that train of thought. He shouldn't think like that. _'If anyone can pull of a crazy scheme like this, Mikey can.' _He thought positively.

He sensed April sit down beside him. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay Don, Mikey won't let us down, he won't let Leo down."

"Thanks April."

They shared a brief smile before the noises of fighting sounded over their headsets. Thuds and grunting echoed in Donnies' ears.

"Raph, Casey you guys okay?"

"Yeah, you?" Confusion and slight panic laced the red-banded turtle's voice.

"We're fine. It must be Mikey. Can you see what's going on?"

"Yeah, hold on a sec…" Raph looked through his binoculars to see Mikey kicking the shell out of a bunch of Foot Ninja and then, "…_shit_" he exclaimed.

"What is it Raph?" Donnie asked, apprehension evident in his tone.

"Mikey's surrounded," Donnie could here the dread in Raphs voice as he spoke, "The Elite have their weapons at 'is throat. He's in trouble an' I'm getting' 'im outta there."

"No Raph, wait!" Donnie exclaimed.

"I ain't waitin', they're gonna kill 'im." Raph stood up and made his way to the roofs edge.

"I said NO Raphael."

Donnie had never before sounded so forceful before, or used his full name. Only Leo and Splinter really ever did that. That fact alone caused Raph to pause out of shear disbelief. Disbelief that Donnie could be so authoritative and disbelief that he was actually complying with the order.

Donnie sighed, and in a calmer tone he added, "If he needs help he'll give us the signal. Give him a chance Raph."

Raph said nothing, but took his seat by Casey, who wisely remained quiet. Donnie took Raph's silence as compliance. A fierce tension took hold over the two groups. Donnie was tense because Raph could see what was going on and he couldn't, Raph was tense because he could see what was going on but couldn't do anything about it, and April and Casey were tense because their friends were tense.

The tension increased ten fold when Karais voice sounded over the headsets,

"_To what do I owe the honor of your company?"_

Donnie heard the growl that Raph let loose, "Easy bro," he said into his mike. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop Raph the next time the hot headed turtle decided to crash the party.

"… _where are the others? Surely even you are smart enough not to attempt a rescue without your brothers-"_

"_My brothers are __**dead**__ Karai; you __**killed them**__."_

Donnie groaned and slapped his forehead, _'This is your great plan Mikey?'_

"WHAT!?!" Raph yelled, while Casey fell over in a fit of laughter. Casey's laughing covered most of Raph's colorful language he used to express his opinion on Mikey's 'genius' plan. From what Don could make out Raph went through his entire repertoire, both in English and Japanese. Donnie couldn't help the chuckles that left his mouth, after all, laughter was infectious.

But April didn't adhere to the rule. In fact she looked really upset.

"If you two don't shut your mouths and be quite so I can hear if Mikey is in trouble or not, then I'll make both of you wish you _were_ dead."

"Raph's the one who's s'posed ta be the stiff, not me." Casey said as he finally managed to get himself under control.

But the reminder of the danger to Michelangelo had its desired effect in silencing them, but Raph still grumbled to himself, "If Mikey makes it through this, I'm gonna kill 'im."

All had quieted down just in time to hear how Raph and Donnie had 'died'.

"…_you call having your flunkies beating Raph to within an inch of his lie unharmed? He bled out from internal injuries."_

"_Surely Donatello…" _

"_Yeah, Donnie probably could have saved Raph if you hadn't given him too much of that stuff you used to knock us all out. He never even woke up."_

"I wonder if Mikey realizes the irony of how he killed us off." Donnie said.

"How so?" Raph asked.

"For one, you're too stubborn to bleed out and I'm too smart to OD."

"Knowin' Mikey 'e prob'ly does."

"You think Karai is really gonna fall for it?" Casey asked.

"If she doesn't then Mikey's turtle soup." Raph replied.

"For Mikey and Leo's sake, I hope she is, but I doubt that Karai is _that_ stupid." April added.

Now Donnie knew why Mikey declined the two-way radio. All this conversation would have been really distracting. It showed foresight and that Mikey had really thought this through. Donnie felt real pride in how much growing up Mikey had seemed to have done, but he hoped that a little of the old Mikey would survive. Life wouldn't be the same without his joking around.

"_I am sorry Michelangelo. It was not my intention to cause Donatello or Raphael any harm…"_

"Okay, so she is that stupid." April stated.

"Yeah, good thing for Mikey." Donnie commented.

"Hey don't sound surprised," Raph remarked, "of course Karai's stupid, she worked for the Shredder, an' anyone who worked for that schizoid should have their head examined."

"Hey, shut yer yap, somethin's up" Casey said, grabbing everyone's attention.

"_Hand over your weapons, and…you must swear on your honor that you will leave without a fight when I command." _

"_Agreed"_

"No Mikey, don' give up your weapons." Raph pleaded with his unhearing brother as he watched as Mikey handed his nunchaku over to an Elitist.

"Ah shit" Raph swore. "Is he still on your radar Donnie? I've lost visual."

"Yeah Raph, I've got him. They're heading down to the lower levels."

IIIIIIIIII

Michelangelo willingly allowed the Foot Elite to escort him into the elevator after Karai. He hated being separated from his weapons and he felt a growing unease without the reassuring touch of them against his plastron. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for him to forfeit them so easily? Oh well. What's done is done and now Mikey would just have to make the best of the situation. The doors closed behind him and he felt the elevator car lurch and begin its descent.

When the doors opened after a long descent filled with unpleasant silence, the group filed out of the cramped space. Immediately the Elite took up positions around Mikey, one to the front, another behind him, and the last two on either side. They walked the empty halls, their footsteps echoing off the stark-white walls with every step. The route that Karai took them by was a winding one; an attempt to confuse him, Mikey supposed. Just when he was getting impatient and about to speak up, the group turned into a long hallway with a large metal door at the opposite end.

They continued down the hall but Mikey paused when he came to a section that was made up of bars instead of the regular wall. He looked inside and spotted dark, wet areas on the cement floor. Some were old while others were fresh. Mikey didn't even have to hazard a guess as to what the substance was or who it belonged to. It was blood. Leos' blood. His gaze shifted to the manacles lying next to a hook on the floor. His eyes narrowed in anger and his beak wrinkled from the smell that emanated from the room. The smell of blood and sweat mixed with vomit was overwhelming. A harsh nudge from behind, urged him forward.

It seemed like it was an eternity before they arrived at the door, but in those moments before they reached the end of the hallway, Mikey grew terrified at what he would find on the other side of the closed door. He knew that Leo was hurt badly, but he didn't know just how serious his condition was. Plus he knew there was a very good chance that Bishop was in there and that alone was a cause for worry.

"You have five minutes to spend with your brother." Karai announced.

Mikey scoffed at the time frame, "Only five? I'll need more than that to tell im about-"

"You will accept the time I have given you or you will be escorted off the premises without so much as one look at your brother." Karai didn't need to raise her voice to make the threat understood.

'_That should be enough time.' _"Fine" Mikey agreed. _'I hope.'_

Karai unbolted the door and opened it, stepping inside. Mikey followed and entered a room cast in darkness except in the center where a single hanging lamp shown its light down from the ceiling. Mikey followed the path of the light with his eyes and gasped in shock as he saw what the light illuminated. It was Leo, lying on his stomach on a metal table. Mikey cringed at the sight of his oldest brother covered in blood.

"Fuck" The word was barely a whisper, but his brothers heard Mikeys' curse. To be sure they were surprised at their younger brothers' harsh word.

"Damn Donnie, Leo mus' be in bad shape if Mikey's cussin' like that."

"You're right Raph. I don't think that I've ever heard Mikey curse before."

In using that strong of language and never one to do so, Mikey conveyed to everyone outside the dire condition that Leo was in.

Mikey shoved the Elite aside in his haste to reach Leos' side. Once there he noticed the burns and bruises that covered his entire body, except his shell which was missing a sizable chunk behind his right shoulder.

The smell of burnt flesh reached his nose and he recoiled at the sickening smell, it was worse than the smell from the cell he passed. He had to get his brother out of there and get him to Donnie. And he had to do it _now_.

"Leo?" Mikey said, his voice just above a whisper. His hand hovered above Leos' battered body, searching for a patch of the familiar green skin that he could touch and give some comfort. All he could find was purple, black and blue. No green. When he got no response a slight frown appeared on his face. He tried again, this time in a louder tone, and when there was still no response from Leo, Mikey realized that he was unconscious.

"Leo," Mikey repeated, this time louder and more commanding, "wake up bro."

Leo's eyes wrinkled and Mikey felt relief flood his insides.

"That's it Leo, come on." Mikey encouraged and slowly Leo began to open his eyes.

IIIIIIIIII

He heard….something, coming out of the blackness. A voice. He heard a voice, but it was muffled at first and it echoed through his thoughts. It sounded familiar, he knew that voice, but his mind just didn't seem to want to work. All he could recall was the dark veil that surrounded him. Again the voice sounded. This time it brought with it images and thoughts, too many at one time to make any sense of. A third time the voice came, this time it was clear and brought a sense of calm and familiarity. A new sensation also made itself known. Pain. Immense pain throughout his body. It was unbearable. The voice was calling to him, pulling him towards the pain. He didn't want to go. The darkness kept the pain away, but… and he finally remembered who the voice belonged to. Mikey! Suddenly the thoughts and images flooding his mind made sense. His family. His friends. Shredder. Karai. And Pain. He turned away from the comforting darkness and went towards his brothers voice and embraced the pain.

Leo forced his eyes open. His vision was blurry. All he could see was a big green blob with a small stripe of orange dominating his vision. He blinked a few times and his eye sight cleared, reveling Mikey. Leo gave a small smile to reassure the worried turtle in front of him, and Mikey returned it.

A wave of fresh pain ran through Leo and he couldn't hide the shudder that was a direct result of that pain.

"Hang on bro," Mikey said in a whisper that no one else could over hear, "I'll get you outta here in a jiffy."

"Be….careful." Leo managed between labored breaths.

"Don' worry, I'll be fine."

Mikey broke his gaze with Leo when he heard clapping coming form a darkened corner. The clapping figure stepped into the light, "Bishop" Mikey growled.

Leo froze at the sound of his voice. He didn't want Mikey to have to go through what he did. But Leo couldn't move, he could only listen and hope that Mikey could get them out before it was too late.

"So nice of you to join us Michelangelo, it saves me the trouble of having to find you."

"You will pay for what you've done to my brother Bishop."

Leo thought it more than strange to hear his little brother use that tone. It was so harsh and full of malice. It seemed so unnatural.

"And how will you accomplish that? You are unarmed, outnumbered and out skilled. You are at my mercy."

"_Your _mercy?" He looked over to Karai, showing confusion but knowing full well that this was likely to happen. "So you were just gonna hand me over to him all along weren't ya?"

"No Michelangelo. I will honor our agreement."

Bishop was not happy at this revelation. "You said that I could have the other turtles Karai."

"But I did not say that I would deliver them to you. You must catch them on your own."

"That is unacceptable." Bishop growled.

Mikey kept quiet as the two argued, hoping that the fight would get physical so he could sneak out of there with Leo.

Suddenly Bishop lunged towards the weaponless Michelangelo. Mikey deflected the kick Bishop issued easily and ducked around to the other side of the table Leo was still strapped to.

Bishop moved to intercept Mikey again but found his way blocked by Karai. The two traded blow after blow, drawing the attention of the four Foot Elite away from the two turtles. Mikey took advantage of their negligence and quickly started to remove the restraints from Leo's wrists. As he did so he looked up, check to make sure everyone was still occupied, and he locked eyes with Karai. For a moment Mikey froze, thinking he was caught, but Karai simply looked away and returned to the fight.

Mikey was puzzled. Karai knew what he was doing, he was sure of it, but why was she letting him? Did she think that he wouldn't make it out with Leo? He did have to make his way through the building and probably fight the entire Foot Clan in the process, but he had the element of surprise on his side. He had his brothers and friends to back him up.

Mikey didn't hesitate to finish removing Leo's restraints. He hurriedly, but carefully, helped Leo to his feet, placing one of Leo's arms over his own shoulders,

"Lean on me bro, were getting' ya outta here."

With an arm around Leo's waist for extra support and the other securing the arm over his shoulder, Mikey started for the door. Once in the hallway, Mikey gently set Leo down against a wall and closed the door. He inspected the door, looking for a way to lock it. He smiled with his success as he slid a bar across the width of the door and into a metal a slot on the wall, effectively locking the battling figures inside. They were safe. For the moment anyway.

He turned back to his brother, who looked far too pale but was surprisingly still awake, and picked him back up. "Time ta go Leo."

"They'll…just call…for…reinforcements." Leo said between labored breaths as they made their way down the hall.

"No worries bro, we have reinforcements of our own. It's time to pave the way guys."

"Don and Raph?" Leo asked.

"And Casey and April." Mikey added.

It was slow progress. They couldn't go too fast because Mikey was practically carrying Leo. Leo tried not to be such a burden to Mikey, but he was going in and out of consciousness.

"Stay with me Leo" Mikey commanded and Leo's eyes shot open.

"…trying to..." Leo mumbled.

Mikey's worry increased. This was much worse than when the Foot beat Leo up a couple years back. Back then Leo could still help them fight somewhat, but now he was having trouble just breathing.

Finally they made it to the elevator.

"Donnie, we made it to the elevator and we're on our way up, bring the truck." Mikey stated, clearly indicating the urgency to his purple clad brother by the tone of his voice.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to all hell breaking loose. Foot Ninja were running all around and there was yelling and metal clashing against metal. Mikey and Leo stepped off the elevator and stepped into chaos.

There was no mistaking Raph and Casey who were fighting brilliantly fighting the whole Foot army.

"Got to…help them." Leo said while making a feeble attempt at going to their aid. He only managed to raise his arm.

Mikey had no trouble holding him back, "No can do bro. You have an appointment with doctor Don at right-now-thirty. Besides you are in no condition to fight. You can't even stand on your own."

"But Raph, Casey?" Leo reasoned.

"They're only holdin' them off 'til I get you outta here." Mikey reassured.

Mikey made a bee-line for the front doors. Everyone was so focused on the fight that no one noticed Mikey or Leo, and they made it out with no problems.

The truck came flying around the corner with the tires screeching with its high speed turn, and came to a halt in front of the two turtles. The back doors flew open and Don's head poked out,

"Come on Mikey, we have to hurry."

"What does it look like I'm doin'? Leo's heavy and I don't have super strength like Superman."

"But…you are…the Battle…Nexus…Champion." Leo wheezed.

"Glad you're still with us Leo." Don said as he help Mikey lift Leo into the truck.

"Me too." Leo answered.

"Raph, Casey we've got Leo, get out here." April from behind the wheel, ready to peel out as soon as the others returned.

Donnie set to work assessing Leo's many injuries, dressing the minor ones and saving the rest for when they were back at the lair where he would have more room and better supplies to work with. But Leo's injuries were very severe and Donnie didn't know if Leo would survive them or not.

"Casey, we've got Leo. Grab Raph and get your butts out here now." Ordered April.

"Be right out babe."

"Don't call me babe."

It wasn't long before Raph and Casey ran out side. They jumped into the back of the truck, slamming the doors closed behind, them as April sped away, leaving stunned Foot Ninja in their dust.

"Who's gonna tell Mistress Karai?" One ninja asked turning around looking for a volunteer, but finding empty space instead. He hung his head in defeat, knowing that he would be punished for letting the turtles escape.

IIIIIIIIII

**A/N: As always helpful critisism is welcome and encouraged!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Yeah, I'm way late I know. It's the usual excuse, So much school, so little time. Enough jibber jabber for now and on to what you've all been waiting and waiting for...**

Chapter 11

There were no shouts of joy. No cheers of success. No reunited embraces between brothers. Not a single word was uttered. There wasn't time, besides Leo was in and out of consciousness as the moving truck sped away from the Saki building. Mikey and Raph were at Leo's side for support, and just in case Don needed their help. Leo was lying on his shell and Donnie was trying his best to treat Leo's many injuries, but the moving truck made it very difficult. He was just about to voice this problem when the truck's breaks squeaked as the truck slowed to a stop.

"We weren't followed, but we shouldn't stay long," April said, not sure to whom she was directing the statement, but stating it none-the-less. She figured it was only a matter of time before _somebody _came looking. "Casey and I will keep watch." Three turtles in the back all nodded their heads in acknowledgment.

Donnie quickly gathered supplies and knelt by his battered brother. It was near impossible to spot a patch Leo's normally green skin. He was covered from head to toe in bruises, old and new, interspersed with multiple burn marks the size of a quarter, and in places, his skin was missing altogether. Swatches of his plastron were also missing.

Without looking up Donnie addressed his other brothers, "I need more than the rudimentary supplies I have here, so I'm just going to do a quick patch up."

Donnie's inspection traveled up to Leo's face. One eye was obviously swollen shut, but he saw one brown eye staring up at him. Seeing that he was awake, Donnie spoke to him with what he hoped was a calming tone, but he couldn't hide the concern that laced his voice,

"I know you don't like being drugged, but I really think…"

" 'S okay…" Leo interrupted, his breathing was labored and uneven, and he could only manage a shaky and horse whisper. The weak sounding voice from their normally strong sounding brother upset them.

Raph and Mikey shared a worried look with Donnie. The pain must be beyond unbearable for Leo to willingly accept painkillers. It was a control thing for Leo. He hated not being in control of his faculties and painkillers took the control away from him.

Don filled a syringe with morphine; just enough to dull the pain, because it was important, for now, that Leo remained awake as much as possible until he knew the full extant of his injuries. Meanwhile, Leo turned his head away, not wanting to see the needle and hissed as the tiny movement caused a stab of pain to travel up his back. With the syringe ready, Don inserted it into Leo's shoulder. Leo gave a massive involuntary jerk just as the needle pierced his bruised skin. He held back the cry that was aching to escape his throat,

'_Something's wrong…' _he thought, _'It shouldn't have hurt that much.'_

The needle was dislodged before the anesthetic liquid could be injected into Leo's blood stream. Raph had the same thoughts as Leo,

"Donnie," his voice sounded as it always did, but when Donnie looked up and met his eyes, he saw all the worry and concern he himself felt, but Raph also looked confused.

"Why'd he do that? A shot shouldn't hurt 'im that much." Raph asked.

Donnie answered as he prepared another syringe, "His nervous system's been over loaded because of the trauma it's sustained, so his nerves are sending the wrong signals to his brain. Every time we touch him, it must be agony for him."

Mikey's eyes shot up at the last part of Donnie's explanation. He had been holding and gently squeezing, Leo's hand since they got him into the truck, and causing him pain this whole time. He loosened his grip and tried to pull his hand away, but Leo gripped his hand with a surprising amount of strength for someone in his state. Mikey stopped his efforts of pulling away and looked at Leo. His eyes were pleading for him not to let go. Mikey nodded, understanding Leo's silent request, but he made sure not to squeeze anymore.

"You better hold him down this time guys." Raph nodded as he held Leo down at the shoulders and Mikey reached across with his free hand and helped Donnie hold the arm he was going to use steady.

Once again Donnie inserted the needle. This time he quickly depressed the plunger and pulled the needle out.

"There, that should start to help immediately." Donnie said as he started to get the bandages ready.

Mikey knew something was wrong right away when Leo's hand went limp. He instinctively looked to Leo's chest, expecting to see the familiar rise and fall.

It wasn't moving.

He could feel the panic welling up inside him. Raph saw the terrified look on his brother's face and followed it to Leo's still chest.

"Don!" Both exclaimed at the same time.

Donatello turned from his preparations at the panic he heard in his brothers' voices,

"What's wrong?" He asked as he checked on Leo, but he didn't need an answer because he noticed right away that Leo had stopped breathing. He quickly put his fingers on Leo's neck searching for a pulse.

"Donnie, is he…"

"No Mikey, he still has a pulse." Don said to reassure his brothers and himself that Leo was still alive.

But he wouldn't be for long if he didn't start breathing again. So Donnie did the only thing he could do; he started mouth-to-mouth. Breath after breath he forced air back into Leonardo's lungs and after each one he waited to see if Leo would take a breath on his own. Raph and Mikey watched as one brother breathed for another.

A minute passed. Then another.

Still no response from Leo. Donnie was getting tired, but he refused to stop.

Finally Leo let out a gasp for air. They all gave a collective sigh in relief.

"It's going to be okay Leo" Don said softly. A small smile crossed his brothers face as he slipped once again into unconsciousness. Don monitored Leo's breathing for a few minutes until he was satisfied that the danger had passed. Don then went back to covering Leo's wounds.

"Why'd he stop breathin' Don?"

"I'm not sure Raph." Donnie answered, "It could have been a lot of things, but it was probably the morphine I gave him." He looked at his brothers questioning looks and explained as best he could,

"Morphine is a muscle relaxant, and the dose I gave him shouldn't have affected him like this, but I suspect that the trauma he's sustained has weakened him and his lungs had difficulty functioning against the morphine."

"But he'll be okay now, right?"

Don looked at Mikey, wishing he could tell him that yes, beyond a doubt, Leo would be alright, but he couldn't, so he just let the silence linger and continued his efforts.

Not two seconds had passed before Casey poked his head inside,

"Hey, how's it goin' in here?"

"Peachy" Raph sarcastically replied.

"We should leave. I've done all I can for Leo for now, but we need to get him somewhere safe so I can get a better look at his injuries."

"You got it Don." Casey disappeared for a brief moment and both he and April climbed back into the truck.

"Where to Don? The lair?" April asked form the drivers seat as she started the ignition.

Donnie shook his head, "No, we can't risk exposing Leo's wounds to infection."

"My apartment then."

"No April. That would be the first place Karai would go looking for us." Don said.

"Yeah and we don't wanna put you in any more danger." Raph's words were sincere. He wouldn't see anyone else suffer at Karai's hands for the sake of him and his brothers.

"Where else can we go?" Casey's question went unanswered and by silent consent April started in the direction of her apartment.

IIIIIIIIII

Leo was confused. One moment he was with his brothers, finally after many long hours of hoping, and then he was alone. Where ever he was, it was dark. Dark and silent. There was no sound but that of his own heavy breathing.

Wait. He could breathe without feeling any pain for the first time in days. He looked down at his body, there were no wounds.

'_What the shell is going on? Where am I?'_

As soon as he thought those words a light flicked on in the darkness. Leo threw his arm over his eyes trying to protect them from the brightness that overloaded his senses. He tried to determine the source of the light but his attempts were useless.

"Come" Beckoned a voice, "Come Leonardo." The voice was calm, soothing welcoming and strong. Leo took a reflexive step back and immediately pain surged through his body. It became harder for him to breathe and he felt all his bruises and other wounds once again adorn his body. Through the blinding pain, Leo again heard the voice,

"Come Leonardo, and you shall feel no more pain."

Suddenly it hit Leonardo. He knew where he was. Many times he wished that this would happen, that death would come and claim him, to end his suffering, but now…

Now he was with his brothers, and he never wanted to be separated from them ever again.

"No," he managed to growl through gritted teeth, "I'm staying."

"It would be easier on all, if you come now." It was pulling at Leo both physically and mentally. Slowly, Leo started to slide towards the light. Its' will was strong, but Leo's was stronger.

"No!" Roared Leo, both with his mouth and with his mind, as he stood up and turned his shell to the light and strained against the pain and the force dragging him back. He tried to distance himself from it,

"I. Am. Staying!" He fought with all his might against the expansive influence and he felt it give.

"So be it." And just as suddenly as Leo found himself in that place, he was back with his brothers gasping for air.

"It's going to be okay Leo." Don's words helped to calm him. He relaxed and managed a small smile. No longer did we wait for death to claim him and no longer will he accept its offer. Now he had hope, surrounded by his brothers. Knowing that he needn't fear anymore, he let his eyes close.

IIIIIIIIII

Karai had managed to keep Bishop at bay until reinforcements arrived.

"I suggest that you leave Agent Bishop."

Bishop straightened his tie and pushed his sun glasses back onto his nose.

"Fine" Bishop replied, "But you still owe me a turtle."

"I owe you nothing. Our agreement was for Leonardo only and I kept my promise. He can still be yours if you agree to stand down. I doubt Michelangelo could have made it out of the building considering Leonardo's condition. My Foot Ninja can surely handle one unarmed turtle."

Bishop chuckled mockingly, "Your naïvety is astounding."

Karai narrowed her eyes.

"You really believed that turtles sob story? Have you learned nothing from your previous encounters with these creatures?" The malice in Bishop's voice was becoming more and more obvious.

"You underestimate my ninja's abilities Bishop."

"And you continue to underestimate those turtles!" For a moment Bishop had lost control and actually raised his voice, but he quickly recovered.

Karai was seething on the inside at Bishops words but she kept her outward demeanor looking calm.

"We shall see who is underestimating whom. You are welcome to join me."

Karai turned away and strode form the room, determined to prove Bishop wrong. Her ninja had twice the skill than those of her father. She was confident that there were two turtles waiting for her upstairs.

Bishop followed her out and into the elevator. He didn't know which he would enjoy more, being correct about the turtles escape and seeing Karai humiliated, or seeing the faces of those turtles when he personally dragged them back down to the room. Either way, he won.

The elevator doors opened and Karai stepped out,

"Where are they?" She demanded.

Bodies littered the floor, some moving, some still. The ones who could were tending to their comrades, but there was no sign of the turtles. Karai was furious. She strode to a ninja that was just starting to rise from the floor and picked him up roughly, shaking him to get his attention,

"Where are the turtles?!" Her voice was low but threatening.

The ninja, frightened, struggled to get the words out.

"Tell me you bumbling fool."

"Th-they g-got away mistress"

With a cry of pure rage Karai flung the ninja away. He landed hard and a fellow ninja helped him to his feet.

Karai addressed the room at large, "And how, per chance, did one unarmed and one severely injured turtle manage to elude fifty armed ninja?" Silence. Then a Foot Tech stepped forward cradling a broken arm,

"Michelangelo lied mistress, the ones called Donatello and Raphael both live and they are the ones responsible for this, as well as their human friends, the O'Neil woman Casey Jones."

A deep laughter filled the room. Karai turned and faced Bishop. Karai was humiliated, but she refused to show it.

"Foot Elite" She called out, not taking her eyes from Bishop. The Foot Elite appeared kneeling before her in a puff of smoke, "Yes mistress" all four chorused,

"Find them and notify me of their situation. We will get back what has been taken…_and_ the one responsible."

Bishop smiled to show his acceptance of this token Karai made to make up for her mistake. Two turtles for the price of one. This time he will not waste his good fortune.

IIIIIIIIII

**A/N: Yes I know, it's shorter than previous chapters, but as I was typing it up, I decided to go a different route than what I had already written, but that means that the next chapter is already half written. Hold on there's another but, I will be posting the next chapter for my other story first and maybe a one shot I've been thinking about or another chapter story that's been on my mind for a while now. Seriously, it's starting to drive me crazy, all these story ideas keep popping into my head and I just don't have enough time. Anyway I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry for the horrendous delay, but life sort of got in the way for a while. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 12

When Leo next opened his eyes, he knew that he hadn't been out for long because he saw that he was still in the back of the truck. In fact, the truck was still moving, he could feel the vibrations. The only thing that was different was the sheet that was pulled up to his chin. Leo then let his eyes drift to locate his brothers. They found Mikey first. He was sitting with his back against the side of the truck, arms resting on his knees and his eyes closed; not in sleep but in an attempt at relaxation. Leo found Raph next. He was up in front, speaking to someone in the cabin through a small window; Casey and April no doubt. When his eyes finally located his last brother, Leo found Don looking back at him.

Donnie couldn't help the smile that played across his lips as he watched his wounded brother seek out his family. Leave it to Leo to be concerned about everyone else before himself, especially when it's him that's the worst off. But Donnie knew his brother well. He wouldn't be able to focus on healing until he was sure of everyone else's well-being. Donnie could see the relief in Leos' eyes when they met his.

"Everyone's o-okay?" Leo asked weakly.

"Yeah Leo, everybody is fine. Though, you've looked better." Don replied, attempting humor.

"I-I've felt…better." Leo said as he felt his eyelids become heavy once more.

"No Leo, I don't want you sleeping just yet." Donnie called out to his brother.

Leo responded by opening his eyes. As he did so, Leo felt the van come to a stop.

"Where…?" He asked.

"Aprils." Was Don's short reply. This worried Leo. They could easily be found here and he wouldn't be able to protect his brothers if the Foot and Bishop's men attacked. He could barely keep his eyes open. He was so tired.

"Hey Leo." Raph said as he noticed that his brother was awake. That was all he said. Raph wasn't much for words in situations like these.

"Hey bro, you gave us quite a scare." Leo looked over to see Mikey with his characteristic smile on his face once more, albeit not as brilliant as it usually was.

"Sorry" Leo whispered. He was too exhausted to speak any louder. All he wanted to do was sleep.

"HEY!" Donnie's yell made Leo snap his eyes open. He hadn't even noticed that they had closed, "I thought I said no sleeping yet." Don admonished, though not very sternly.

"Ugh…tired"

"I know you are Leo and as soon as I look you over and bandage you up, you can sleep as long as you want. Deal?"

"Deal." Leo agreed.

"Good now that that is solved. I'm sorry to tell you that there is no way to get you into April's apartment without causing you a lot of pain."

"I understand. Do what you have to do Don."

"Right" Donnie said. "Um…Raph and Casey you will carry Leo upstairs and Mikey, you and April will help me gather all the supplies and bring them up."

Everyone nodded to their given assignments. Casey and Raph bent next to Leo. They sat him up and a small moan escaped his lips. Each put one of his arms around their shoulders and snaked an arm under his legs.

"Ok bro, you ready?" Raph asked.

Leo nodded. He had his eyes squeezed shut; either from the pain he was already experiencing or as preparation for the pain he was about to experience, Raph couldn't tell.

"Right, on three. One, two, three." Raph and Casey stood up, Leo tried not to scream from the pain, but he let out a gasp anyways.

"Sorry man." Casey said.

" 'S fine." Leo said through gritted teeth.

"Let's jus' get 'im upstairs." Raph suggested.

Raph and Casey went as fast as they could without causing Leo too much pain, but they had to get him inside before the neighbors saw them. Once inside the apartment, the trio made their way to the bedroom where Raph and Casey carefully laid Leo on the bed. Being able to move much faster, Donnie, Mikey and April entered right behind them. They deposited their load and everyone made their way to the door. Raph, Casey and April left the room to give Donnie space to work, but Mikey paused at the threshold. He pulled Donnie close and quickly whispered in his ear,

"Dude, be sure to check his legs." Donnie gave him a questioning look. "He wasn't usin' 'em too well. Not at all actually, I practically had to drag him out of that building."

"Ok, Mike I will." With a pat on the shoulder, Don watched a very worried turtle leave the room, closing the door behind him.

From his quick look over in the van, Donnie knew that Leo had many bruises that covered most of his body. There wasn't really anything he could do for those, but Donnie's immediate concern was with the innumerable burns. He needed to get those taken care of first to minimize the chances of infection.

"Ok Leo, I have to remove the dead tissues around these burns. Let me know if it hurts too much."

"Mm hmm" Was Leo's mumbled reply.

Don picked up a scalpel and set to work cutting away the dead tissue. The damage was more extensive than he had first thought, but thankfully, the morphine was still working so Donnie could carry on without fear of causing Leo more pain.

"How long…?" Leo asked in a whisper, though the last of his question ended in a mumble.

"What was that Leo?" Donnie didn't quite catch what Leo had said.

"How long was I gone?" Leo repeated a little louder this time.

"Seventeen days." Donnie replied, not pausing in his work.

Leo gave a little groan, "Feels like it was longer."

"Yeah," Donnie agreed, "it did."

By the time Donnie was finished with the task, an hour had past by. Donnie efficiently covered the burns with an antiseptic and bandaged them up. He did this to the places where the skin had been stripped as well.

"Right, that's done." Don said as he put the left over bandages on the bedside table for later.

"Took you long enough." Leo sarcastically replied.

Donnie couldn't help the small smile that spread on his face. His brothers spirit was still there, even after all the he'd been put through.

"Now comes the hard part." Donnie ignored the half-playful, half-dreading groan that Leo gave.

"I need you to tell me where it hurts the most." Don's tone was just a tad sterner to let Leo know that this was serious.

Leo took a deep breath, or tried to, because he ended up in a painful coughing fit.

"Ribs?" Don asked when Leo had recovered. Leo nodded his assent.

Don gently probed the area between Leo's shell and plastron. A sharp intake of breath and a hiss of pain from Leo confirmed Donnie's suspicions.

"You've got some broken ribs," Donnie repeated the process on Leo's other side and got the same reaction. "Actually, I'd have to say that all of your ribs are either broken or fractured."

"Swell" Leo replied.

Leo continued to tell Don what hurt while Don continued to check them with a meticulous eye. Inwardly, Donnie cringed as the list of injuries grew. It was difficult for him to believe that _anyone_ could have sustained this many injuries and still be alive. It wasn't long before Leo said that he was done.

"You sure nothing else hurts Leo?" Donnie asked because Leo hadn't said anything about pain below his waist.

Leo's brows scrunched in concentration, "My right ankle was bothering me earlier, but it isn't now."

Donnie turned his attention to the aforementioned ankle. It was swollen and a deep purplish color. Donnie probed Leo's ankle as gently as he could and he found it to be dislocated. He looked back to Leo and he didn't even flinch at Donnies touch. Quickly and without warning to Leo, Donnie set the ankle back into its socket. Leo never twitched.

"You didn't even feel that?" Donnie asked.

"Feel what?" Leo looked at his brother with questioning eyes.

"Leo, wiggle your toes for me."

There was a slight pause before Leo sighed.

"You know as well as I do that I can't Donnie" Leo quietly admitted.

"Do you know when and how it happened?"

"I lost the feeling in my legs a while before Mikey came," At this point Leo dropped his eyes from Donnie's, "and it probably happened because Bishop drilled through my shell to take samples of my spinal fluid."

"WHAT!?" Donnie was shocked when Leo revealed this little piece of information. He rushed to Leo's side and rolled him over onto his side. The sight sickened him. There was a series of 1 inch diameter holes in Leo's shell. Donnie counted nine holes in total, in an apparently random pattern. He opened the bedside table and grabbed a small flash light and shined it into the center hole. After a few moments he clicked the flashlight off and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Looks like he nicked your spinal chord. That's why you can't feel anything below your waist." Donnie informed his brother.

"Is it permanent?" Leo asked.

"I don't know Leo." Donnie answered after a slight hesitation. He didn't have the heart to tell his brother he would probably never walk again.

Donnie closed the door behind him as he left Leo to get some much needed sleep. He was immediately met by four very anxious looking people. He gave them the run down of Leo injuries saving the worst for last. Only Mikey wasn't surprised by the news.

"What now?" Mikey asked after the mood had calmed a bit.

"We should get the truck back to the rental place." April suggested. "It's a beckon saying that we're here."

"That's prob'ly a good idea." Raph consented.

"April an' I will take care of it." Casey said as he got up to get the keys with April right behind him.

"I'll come with you." Donnie said standing up also. "We could pick up Splinter on the way back and I need a few things from the lair anyways." He gave Mikey and Raph a look that told them the real reason why he was going and they silently agreed with him. The Foot could find and attack them so Donnie wanted to go along to protect them.

Raph and Mikey were left sitting at the table in April's dining room. An uneasy peace had settled in the tiny apartment. It was broken when Raphael suddenly stood up and announced,

"I'm gonna go up to da roof an' keep an eye out." He sounded…defeated, Mikey noticed.

Needless to say that he felt a little down since Donnie delivered the bad news. Mikey's spirit also took a little nose dive, even though he had his suspicions about Leo's condition, he had held out hope that he was wrong. Now was one of the few times that he really hated Donnie being right.

Raph had climbed out the window without another word, as was usual for him. He needed the time alone to sort through recent events. So Mikey was left to his own devices. Normally he would take this opportunity to rig up some elaborate prank on one of his brothers or veg out and play video games or watch T.V. But these were not normal circumstances and it was not the time or place. Besides he was too worried about Leo to focus on anything else. He knew Leo would live, but not being able to walk, train or even able to get around on his own will be devastating. Mikey feared that this could wear Leo's spirit down until it finally broke. Ever since they communicated on the astral plane, Mikey has felt a deeper connection with his eldest brother and right now he could feel the helplessness his brother was emanating from the bedroom. He couldn't stand it anymore and he wouldn't let his brother give up hope. Mikey stood up and walked over to the door. He hesitated for a moment taking a deep, steadying breath and put a smile on his face. It wasn't his usual boisterous ear-to-ear smile, but it was sincere, saying he was happy to have his brother home and alive. Mikey walked into the room quietly, in case Leo was sleeping, but he wasn't surprised to see him awake and staring up at the ceiling.

Leo could sense that one of his brothers was standing outside the door, so he quickly wiped away the single tear that escaped down his cheek and suppressed the dark thoughts. He didn't want to add to their already mounting worry. He wasn't sure if he was surprised or relieved to see that it was Mikey who entered and sat in a chair by the bed. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Leo spoke,

"Donnie told you, huh?"

"Yeah, but I kinda already knew." A questioning look fro Leo told him to continue, "I noticed you weren't usin' your legs back at the Saki building and I had to carry your shell the whole way." Mikey explained, shrugging it off as no big deal.

More silent minutes past until Mikey couldn't take it anymore, "Why're you actin' like this bro? It's not like you." He stated.

"What do you mean Mikey?"

"Dude, you can fool all the people some of the time or some of the people all the time, but you can't fool all the people all of the time." Mikey said.

Leo blinked unbelieving at his brother, "Whoa Mikey, when did you become so profound?"

"Heh, I can be profound when I need to be, but I haven't needed to be until you weren't there." Mikey clarified more by saying, "Usually you an' Donnie are profound enough for all of us, but without you, we sort of…well we weren't ourselves."

"Isn't this a touching reunion?" A cold feminine voice said.

Both brothers whipped their heads to the doorway with surprise that quickly dwindled to fear as they saw Karai standing at the door with many foot soldiers behind her.

"A pity it is not meant to last."

Michelangelo leapt up and withdrew his weapons, taking a defensive stance by his brother.

"I won't let you take him this time Karai!" Mikey said with determination.

He acted first and struck hard at the nearest foot soldier, knocking him out cold. His nunchaku twirled fast, moving from one target to another in conjunction with his feet; each working together to defeat the enemy. Foot continued to pour into the room as it got harder for Mikey to hold them back.

Leo watched Mikey fight with rising frustration at not being able to help. He winced at the pain he felt trying to get himself in a sitting position. He continued to struggle until he noticed a shadow looming over him, a shadow that did not belong to his brother. Purely be reflex, Leo elbowed the figure in the stomach and when he doubled over from the blow, Leo followed up with a backhanded punch to the face and the figure fell to the floor unconscious. The maneuver left him gasping for breath.

Mikey cursed himself for letting the ninja past him and then sighed in relief when he saw that Leo had taken care of him. Another cures filtered through his mind as he realized that he was tiring. He couldn't keep up the fight much longer. With a grunt he shoved a ninja back and into several others with a kick to the abdomen, knocking them all down. With his short reprieve he pulled his shell cell from his pouch and tossed it to Leo,

"Leo, call Raph he's-"

"Right here" Mikey's heart hit the bottom of his stomach because it wasn't Raphael's voice that said those words. Karai's voice was laced with so much hatred that Mikey didn't recognize it right away.

The Foot soldiers currently engaged with him ceased their fighting and Mikey stepped back, keeping his weapons spinning, but they went limp when he saw Raph being shoved through the bedroom door. He stumbled in and two Foot Tech grabbed him back, holding his arms behind him. Raph was favoring his right leg and Mikey quickly saw that was because of his right knee was three times its normal size. But what really had Mikey worried was the large gash on the left side of Raph's head, which was bleeding profusely. Raph was being unusually tame and quite given the circumstances and Mikey's thoughts went immediately to the head wound. He might have a concussion or he could just be dazed. Mikey hoped it was the latter.

Before he could jump to the aid of his brother Karai stepped forward with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"I knew if I was patient enough one of you would come to the roof. I was disappointed it was this one, he didn't even give my ninja a good workout before he was defeated." Karai commented as she inspected Raph's injuries with an uncaring eye by lifting his chin with a finger.

"What do you want Karai?" Mikey growled even though he already knew what she wanted, he was just buying time.

Nobody seemed to notice when Leo flipped opened the shell cell and pushed the button for Donatello's phone. He had just answered when Karai answered Michaelangelo,

"I want my revenge!"

"_Oh shell!"_ Leo heard Donnie say over the line.

"I won't let you take Leo this time!" Mikey informed Karai spinning his weapons once more.

Karai looked at Leonardo for a brief moment before she said, "I am through with him, besides he looks as if he won't last much longer anyway."

Mikey glanced over his shoulder at his injured brother and was surprised to see him very pale and gasping for breath. He hated to agree with Karai, but she was correct in Leo's declining condition.

"Then if its not Leo, what do you want?" Mikey asked. If he could he would give it to her so he could get Donnie back here to help Leo.

"I want you!" Mikey was dumbfounded. "You lied to me and made me look weak in front of Bishop and my clan. You will die by my hand."

Mikey gulped. The only thing he could think of to do was to employ a tactic Leo often used when dealing with Karai.

"Here? Now? Where is the honor in killing me in a forced battle where you are threatening my family?"

"How dare you speak to me of honor after the stunt you pulled? You took advantage of the generosity I showed you to see your brother thinking he was the last one alive. You lied to get to him and then you stole him from me when I had the right of revenge. You have brought dishonor on you and your entire clan." Karai wanted to get under the turtles skin and it seemed to be working.

Mikey narrowed his eyes in an uncharacteristic show of anger, "I would rather sacrifice my honor than see a brother die. But you seem to need a lesson in honor Karai. Honor is protecting those you love and care about. Honor is seeing the good in people who don't see it in themselves. Honor is risking your life for a stranger. Honor is doing something you don't really want to do, no matter how difficult or dangerous it is because you know it's the right thing. The Shredder was evil Karai, you just didn't want to see it and you still don't. Leo did the honorable thing in killing him to protect the world from his evils."

"You lie!" Karai said and she withdrew a knife and placed it at Raph's throat. "You will come with me or I will kill him AND him." She nodded over to where Leo was lying.

Mikey sighed in a defeated manner and sadly turned to his wounded brother, "Now I truly no the burdens you carry with you everyday bro," Mikey looked down to the phone Leo had hid from everyone else and then back to his brother.

"No Mikey, don't-" Leo started, but he was cut off,

"Tell Donnie I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye." Mikey said as he held his brothers gaze for a moment before he turned back around.

"I will go with you, but _only_ if this stops now and you stop going after my family."

Karai nodded her acceptance of his terms and Mikey dropped his weapons. Two Foot Ninja stepped forward and bound his hands behind his back. By this time Raph had regained a little awareness of the situation and started to struggle against those who held him. Karai took the hilt of the knife and struck Raphael in the temple. Raph crumpled to the floor unconscious.

Mikey growled at his brothers treatment but Karai didn't want to take any chances, "We don't want him following you and getting himself hurt now do we?" She asked in a faked, sweet voice. "Let's go."

Karai led the way out of the apartment and down the fire escape to the alley and a waiting van. Mikey was shoved in the back with five Foot Tech to guard him. Karai and another ninja went to the front of the van to drive it back to their headquarters. The rest went by way of the rooftops.

Meanwhile back in the apartment, Leo picked up the phone, "You get that Don? Yeah Raph and I will be fine," Leo said as he looked to see Raph's chest rise and fall, "just get Mikey."

**A/N: Yeah I know it's kinda conversation heavy, but that's how I wrote it. Please review! I'll TRY to get the next chapter up sooner than I did this one.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey y'all here is the next chapter. Yes I know it's been a while, but it's here now. It's a little shorter than previovs chapters because when I wrote it, it ended up being too long so I split it up. As soon as I type it up, I will post chapter 14. I am predicting 2 weeks (hopefully, if all goes well). So thank you for those who are still with me. Enjoy!**

**BTW, the different sections are basically happening at the same time**

Chapter 13

Leonardo had somehow managed to conceal his actual condition from his brother. Donatello had to concentrate on saving Mikey and he couldn't do that if he was also thinking about his brothers declining health. Besides, he didn't want to put the burden of having to choose to save one brother over another. That was his job as the leader and as eldest brother. A coughing fit caused Leo to drop the phone. His lungs burned and his ribs screamed with pain. His hand automatically went to cover his mouth. When the fit finally subsided it left Leo out of breath. When Leo pulled his hand away from his mouth he noticed something wet on his palm. From the corner of his eye he saw Raph starting to stir…

_The Foot had surrounded him. They managed to sneak up on him and he chided himself for his lack of attentiveness as he drew his weapons. He fights, but there are too many. He pulls out his shell cell, they had to be warned, but it is knocked out of his hand. He sees where it landed, intact, and he fights to get to it. There are too many. He's tiring, and isn't quick enough. Pain explodes from his right knee just before something hard strikes the side of his head. He fought to stay conscious and won, but his reflexes suffered from the blow and he was knocked on his shell. He looked to his right and found his cell lying a few inches from his hand. He reached for it and had it in his grasp when a sharp pain shot through his hand and up his arm as a sickening crunch reached his ears. He opened his eyes to see that a foot trapped his hand to the roof. Then he saw that same foot rapidly making its way to his face. He tried to move but found himself pinned. Pain erupted in his head. He vaguely felt the other blows to his sides, stomach and face. The beating didn't last long and he felt the hands grab and lift him up. Everything that happened after was a muffled blur. Despite the haze, he noticed a change. He was inside now and he heard voices. Something cold was put to his throat. The voices turned angry._

"_I'll go with you…" A familiar voice declared._

_He knew this was wrong but he couldn't focus. Pain radiated from his temple and he felt his body fall to the floor. In the instant before blackness consumed him, everything cleared and he saw his youngest brother being taken by the enemy._

"MIKEY!" Raph yelled as he regained conscious. His head and right hand throbbed with pain as he forced himself quickly onto his feet. It was too fast and he fell back down on his knees from the dizziness and more pain exploded from his right knee on impact that caused him to gasp. He had no choice but to wait until the dizziness subsided. It past quickly and Raph stood more slowly this time, favoring his right leg. He noticed that he was in April's bedroom, _'Leo!'_

Raph whirled around, causing the dizziness to flare again, but he beat it down. He sighed in relief as he saw his injured brother still lying in bed. Leo's gaze was fixed on his hand, worry etched in his features.

"You ok?" Leo asked lowering his hand.

"Yeah. My hand's busted, my head is killin' me an' my knee is messed up. Other than that I'm peachy," Raph replied sarcastically. "how long…?"

"Not long" Leo answered, catching the double meaning in Raph's question, how long was he out and how long since Mikey was taken.

"What 'bout you? You don' look so good, I mean ya look worse than before." Raph noticed the quick, shallow breaths his brother was taking and he knew that wasn't a good sing.

"I'm fine, just a little-" Whatever Leo was going to say was cut off by a fierce coughing fit. Raph limped over to his brother, ignoring the dizziness that threatened him. He helped Leo into a sitting position and waited for the episode to stop.

It did stop, after what seemed like hours. Raph assisted Leo back into a lying position and as he did he noticed something on the sheet in his brothers' lap.

"What's this?" He asked as he touched the red substance with a finger and brought it closer to his face to better inspect it.

"Is this blood?" He thought out loud. Then he remembered what Leo was doing when he woke up and grabbed for the offending hand. The same stuff was splattered all over the inside of Leo's palm.

"It is blood!" Raph exclaimed. "You coughin' this stuff up is not supposed to happen unless somethin' is seriously wrong. I'm callin' Don!"

"No…don't!" Leo grabbed Raphs wrist in a surprisingly strong grip considering his injuries.

"But…" Raph started

"He's the only one who can help Mikey." Leo finished.

Raph was torn. He knew he should call Don, but he also knew he couldn't. He hated to admit it, but Leo was right. All he could do was hope that Don and Mikey got back soon.

"Mikey and Don don't stand a chance against Karai and the Foot." Raph huffed.

"We have no choice but to trust that they can. I have faith in both of them. Besides, something tells me that Mikey can handle Karai. He's…changed." Talking was painful, but Leo was grateful for the distraction.

"Nah, he's just grown up a little. He kinda had to. We all had to."

Leo took Raph's words to heart. It was the only way that the red banded turtle could say that he had missed his older brother.

Another coughing fit stopped all conversation as Leo coughed up more blood.

'_Shit'_ kept repeating in Raph's mind as Leo's coughing continued.

IIIIIIIIII

They were stopped at a red light when Donnies shell cell rang. He flipped it open and was about to say 'hello' when a look of fear adorned his face.

"Oh shell" Donnie fearfully exclaimed.

Knowing something was up, Casey turned into an alley as soon as the light turned green.

Several minutes went by as April and Casey watched Donnie's expression change from fear to confusion, to surprise, to anger and finally back to fear, as he listened intently to who ever was talking on the other end of the call.

"Yeah Leo, I got it. Will you..? Don't worry, I will." Donatello said and snapped his shell cell shut. Concern was etched all over his face.

"What's wrong Donnie?" April asked.

"They took Mikey, I have to go help him."

"What?!" Exclaimed Casey. "So what are we sittin' 'round 'ere for, let's go after 'im."

Casey revved the trucks engine and was about to put it in reverse when a green, three fingered hand covered his on the gear shift.

"No Casey. I need you and April to go back and help Raph and Leo. Raph got roughed up and probably has a concussion and someone should check on Leo too."

Casey had every intention of ignoring the request but Donnie saw his conflicting thoughts, "Please, Casey? Neither is in any condition to defend themselves if they're attacked again."

Casey sighed in defeat, "Okay man, jus' watch yer shell and bring that Goofball home."

With a determined nod to them both, Donnie left the truck and took off across the rooftops.

IIIIIIIIII

After being roughly shoved into the van a Foot Tech forced Mikey onto his knees and his arms behind his shell. Mikey could feel his shoulder muscles being pulled to their limits. Normally, neither he nor any of his brothers could touch their hands behind their backs. Their shells were too big and their arms too short. But obviously this guy didn't care and managed to bring Mikeys arms close enough together to put a pair of shackles on his wrists. Then he chained them to the floor of the van with a short chain that allowed little movement on Mikeys part. After this was done, the Foot Tech joined his fellow ninjas in a circle surrounding their prisoner with their weapons at the ready.

'_Karai sure ain't taking any chances.' _Mikey couldn't help but think of the irony. Finally someone was taking him and his skills seriously, but this is NOT what he had in mind.

After a few minutes, Mikey shifted his position trying to relieve the strain on his shoulders that was becoming painful and to get some blood flow to his tingling, blood-deprived fingers. And to make matters worse he had an itch! Just above his left eye. Even though it caused the pain to flair, Mikey used his shoulder to ease the irritating itch. During the maneuver however, the van hit a bump in the road and Mikey lost his balance and fell back with a not so soft thud of his head against the side of the van.

His guards burst out laughing. His head was throbbing and the laughing was making it worse and the only time he allowed anyone to laugh at him was when he wanted them to. So Mikey decided to remind them exactly who they were dealing with.

Mikey slumped to the floor, faking disorientation to draw his captors near and also to get in the right position. Once on his shell, Mikey used his foot to push on the floor, causing him to spin. He straightened his legs as he spun and caught each and everyone standing, causing them to fall on their rear ends.

It was Mikeys turn to laugh. He may be their captive, but he can still kick their butts! Mikey was laughing so hard tears were leaking out of his eyes. A foot connecting with his jaw sobered Mikey up real fast and he thought he heard a crack. He was roughly picked up and forced back into a kneeling position. He spit the blood that had gathered in his mouth out onto the floor, just missing a Foot Techs foot and looked up.

"Seeing you fall on your asses was worth it." Mikey said, pain flaring from his jaw as he spoke. It was defiantly broken.

"You think you are better than us, Freak?" He said. Mikey rolled his eyes at the overused nickname. It didn't even faze him any more.

Hiding the pain talking caused him, Mikey responded, "Dudes, I could take all of you down with my hands tied behind my back!" Mikey tilted his head to the side and smirked, "Oh yeah, I just did."

This angered the ninja and he pulled his fist back to strike, Mikey sat unflinching.

"Enough!" Came Karai's order.

The ninja complied, dropped his arm and stepped back into formation.

"We are here." Karai announced.

The van slowed to a stop and Mikey steeled himself for what was to come.

IIIIIIIIII

Donnie pushed himself to run faster, racing over the rooftops to get to his little brother. His plan was simple; find Mikey, rescue him from Karai and get out. There was just one teensy tiny little problem, he had no idea where they were taking Mikey.

Donnie stopped at this realization. He had to think. Karai could take him back to Foot headquarters, but that would be too obvious. She didn't want anyone to find them before she was done with whatever she was going to do. The Foot had many more strongholds hidden throughout the city, but it could take weeks to search them all. Mikey didn't have that kind of time.

Panic started to creep its way into Donnie's head when a light bulb suddenly scared it away.

"Duh" he said smacking his forehead. "Mikey still has the tracking device on him from Leo's rescue!"

Donnie pulled out the tracker from his bag and turned it on. An orange blip lit up the screen and bleeped at him. It wasn't moving, meaning they had already arrived at their destination. Donnie's smile quickly fell into a frown when he saw where his brother was.

"Of course it has to be half way across the city!" Donnie grumbled as he stuffed the devise back the bag. He pulled the bag tight over his shoulder ready to start running when he thought better of it and hid his bag in the shed on the roof. He would run faster without it. So, armed only with his bo, Donnie set off towards the warehouse district and his brother.

IIIIIIIIII

Mikey stumbled as he was pushed out of the van. He gave the offending Ninja a glare that infringed on Raphs territory, but it was disregarded. Internally Mikey pouted that his glare didn't instill any fear like it did for Raph but on the outside he settled for a less intense stare as he was lead into a warehouse.

Mikey was dumbfounded at what he saw inside. Mats, punching bags, weights and other training equipment littered the place. The Foot Ninja that were training stopped what they were doing when they noticed the new arrivals. Mikey was pushed forward and he fell to his knees. Cheering erupted from the ninja and for the first time since Karai had taken him, Mikey felt fear creep into his heart.

**A/N: So what did ya think? **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Ha! 11 days. I am early with my update! Whoot whoot, go me, it's my birthday! (Not really ;) ) Now that I am done with this I can Finnally work on the fic me and Mich, (formally known as Mika, aka Michael J Angelo ) are co-authering (Recycled)! Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter 14

The whoops and whistles were not missed by Michelangelo. The confident and bold attitude he had adopted during the past couple weeks was shattered. He visibly paled and this made them cheer louder. Karai walked to the middle of the giant room and raised her hand. The quiet command for silence was immediately obeyed. In that defining hush, Mikey missed the jeering of a few moments ago. The silence was deathly.

"I have successfully caught the turtle that has dishonored the Foot Clan, and tonight I will restore that honor!" Cheers erupted once more and this time Karai let them until they slowly trickled to a stop.

"Bring the prisoner before me." Karai ordered.

Mikey wasn't given a chance to stand or even walk on his own. Instead he was humiliatingly hauled over and presented to Karai like a trophy. He was roughly thrown at her feet in a heap. Karai drew the katana that hung from her back and rested the point on Mikey's collarbone. The fear grew exponentially and Mikey let the panic consume him…for 10 seconds, then he pushed it away.

"Do you admit defeat turtle?" She asked.

Mikey smirked then replied, "If by defeat you mean that I pulled the biggest prank ever and you totally fell for it…then yeah, I admit defeat."

Even though he expected the smack to the face Karai gave him, he was surprised at the force of the hit. It knocked him back on his shell and before he realized what had happened he was harshly put back into a kneeling position. This time the katana was pressed hard up against his neck, creating a small trickle of blood.

"Your usual mocking demeanor will not be tolerated. Now I ask you again, do you admit defeat?" Karai's temper was starting to slip, but Mikey couldn't go too far too fast. He had to play along…for now.

"Yes" He answered through gritted teeth.

"So you are at my mercy?" Karai questioned.

"Yes" Mikey answered again.

Karai seemed pleased with his answers and a satisfied smirk played across her lips,

"Good" The katana pressing against Mikey's neck was removed and Karai stepped away as another katana clattered to the floor in from him. At the same time Mikey felt the shackles being removed from his wrists. His arms fell to his sides and Mikey looked up from the weapon to Karai. He knew what she wanted from him and he hated that he had no choice but to comply. Without taking his eyes from Karai's, Mikey grabbed the hilt of the weapon and slowly stood up.

"You have dishonored me and my entire clan with your earlier escapade," Karai spoke in a clear voice so all could hear, " and your family continue to spread lies about my father's endeavors to better this city, but I am not without compassion. I am offering you a chance to renounce your claim that my father is this demon that your clan has made him out to be and repent for all the vile acts you have committed against him."

Mikey kept his composer throughout Karai's little speech but when she had finished he couldn't hold it in any longer. He let out a huge chortle of laughter. Everyone was confused at this reaction except Karai, she was livid.

"Your position is anything but humorous." Karai seethed.

Mikey wiped away the wetness that had gathered at the corners of his eyes,

"O contraire dudette. See it's like this, you took revenge on Leo for killing your father, a psycho kitchen utensil wanna-be, who was trying to _kill us_ and you want revenge on me because I saved my brother from your retarded sense of retribution. Not to mention that you dishonored yourself when you used me and my other brothers against him when you couldn't defeat Leo on your own. Did I miss anything?"

A look of pure hatred overtook Karai's features and she crouched, ready for combat.

"So be it." She said as she unwound from her position with a powerful lunge.

Mikey evaded the attack and the two katana collided with a loud _shing_. They pushed away from each other and started circling; each was waiting for the other to make a move. Karai feinted to the left, testing her opponent's skills. Mikey deflected each attack that Karai came at him with, but he made no move to go on the offensive. This frustrated Karai, she wanted him to fight back.

"Come on mutant, fight back! Or was you Master so inept that he did not teach you how to wield a katana?" Karai taunted, but it didn't get the reaction that she wanted. Mikey chuckled.

"Do you know the reason I chose the nunchaku as my weapon Karai? It was because it was the only weapon that presented any challenge. Plus chucks are way cooler!" Mikey replied.

Maybe he shouldn't have gloated about his skills; after all he hadn't actually used any other weapon on a regular basis.

Karai again pressed the attack and Mikey allowed her to close in, just close enough to dodge at the last possible minute with a backhanded swipe.

She attacked again and Mikey dodged a second time. Karai plowed in. Mikey countered, ducking low under Karai's flailing arm, slashing across Karai's side and slicing through her clothing. The revenge crazed ninja caught at him and yanked savagely, successfully trapping Mikey against her side. Mikey brought up his weapon just in time to prevent his decapitation. He strained desperately to keep his katana arm up. Timing a sudden collapse of that same arm, he brought up his knee into Karai's stomach. Mikey ducked away as Karai gasped and buckled from the pain of the blow.

As Mikey danced away he said, "Did I mention that I'm the Battle Nexus Champion? That means that I am the most bodacious fighter in all the multi-verse!"

That hit a nerve and Mikey didn't expect the speed of her attack, he deflected the blow but a sudden fire in his left shoulder told him that he did not escape unscathed. He quickly flexed his shoulder to assess the damage. Motion was painful and blood was streaming down his arm and dripping to the floor, but it was still functional. Mikey noticed that the reactions he got from taunting Karai were _very_ different than the reactions he got from taunting Raph and that it probably would be a smart thing if he stopped and concentrate instead on surviving.

Faster than Mikey could react, Karai pulled out several kunai knives and threw them towards the orange clad turtle. Mikey managed to deflect the first two, but he wasn't fast enough and the third one got through and penetrated his already injured shoulder. Mikey grunted, biting back a cry of pain. Keeping his eyes locked on his enemy, Mikey thought about reaching up and removing the knife but he knew that could cause more damage and even bleed out, so he left it.

Mikey was forced to sidestep quickly as Karai's flashing blade came within inches of his abdomen, his own katana sliced down the outside of Karai's arm, splitting the skin open. Mikey darted in, pressing his advantage as the self-proclaimed leader of the Foot staggered from her wound. Unfortunately he misjudged her condition and suffered a terrific kick in the chest that sent him falling on his shell. He turned the fall into a backwards roll, but as he started to stand up he had to dodge another swipe at his head, causing him to roll away frantically from his charging adversary.

Karai lunged forward and fell on top of the turtle pinning him to the floor and brought her katana down for the final blow, but Mikey brought up his katana to meet hers just in time with his right hand on the hilt and his left hand supporting the other end. Karai was bearing down with every ounce of strength she possessed, her face was red with the effort.

"This is the end turtle, for you and your entire clan!" Karai sneered.

"I should have known you wouldn't keep your word Karai." Mikey grunted. His injured shoulder was burning with the effort of holding up Karai's weapon and his arms shuddered under the force of Karai's blade bearing down just inches from his neck. At that time he began to feel light headed and figured that he must be bleeding worse than he had first thought.

Karai noticed that he was weakening and took advantage of his waxing strength and removed one hand from her katana and twisted the kunai in Mikeys shoulder and was rewarded with a cry from her prey. The she slowly pulled the kunai out and held it above her prey, ready to plunge into his flesh. Mikey couldn't help another cry escape his lips. He couldn't risk removing a hand from his weapon to stop the attack. If he did then he wouldn't have the strength to hold it up. It seemed he was doomed either way. Plus Mikey was struggling with the dizziness to hold his position as he felt more and more blood pump out of the wound with each beat of his heart. Karai smiled down and decided to play with her quarry before she killed him.

"I will be the one to end you miserable existence turtle, but the pleasure of ending your brothers' will not be mine!" Karai did not need to expand for realization hit Michelangelo like a ton of bricks,

"Bishop!" He gasped as his eyes went wide with fear.

"Yes. Even now he is on his way to O'Neal's apartment. Soon Bishop will finish what he started with Leonardo and he told me of some experiments that I'm sure Raphael would be perfect for."

Mikey felt as if Karai's blade had already separated his head from his body. Something inside him snapped, just like his fight with Kluh. He couldn't muster the strength when it was his own life on the line; instead it took a threat to his family that gave him the power. With strength he had never shown or even known he had, Mikey heaved Karai off of him and sent her flying with a kick to the chest. She landed with a thud 10 feet away. Mikey cautiously got to his feet, keenly aware of how much blood he has lost and keeping his eyes on his adversary. Karai narrowed her eyes in irritation as she too stood.

"You should know by now Karai," Mikey said as he straightened before stepping back into a defensive position, "to never threaten the family if you want to win a fight against one of us, 'cause you will _always loose_." He raised his katana up over his head and placed his left hand out in front before charging forward.

Mikey was a blur of motion, slashing at Karai's ribs. Reflexively Karai parried the attack. She spun to her right and struck at his other side. Mikey stopped the blow and attacked again, swinging at her head. Karai ducked under the razor sharp edge. Mikey knew he had to end this now before the blood loss becomes too much and causes him to collapse.

Mikey began a complicated series of attacks he had memorized from watching Leo's seemingly endless practices. He flowed from one pose to another, combining and modifying the attacks in every possible way without hesitation. Karai blocked and deflected each strike and while Mikey's strength was fading fast he could tell she was starting to tire. The battle was now pure action and reaction, the most intense Mikey had ever been in. Karai snarled at her opponent, he was faster and more accomplished with the katana than she had thought. He was just as proficient as Leonardo. With one last ditch effort, Karai lunged forward. Mikey nimbly sidestepped, sweeping the point of his katana up to her neck with an almost supernatural speed. Karai lowered her weapon but did not drop it. Both were breathing heavily from the skirmish.

Karai took a deep breath and steeled her features,

"The only way to end the hunt is to kill the hunter."

Mikey was ready to make that fatal cut, but he hesitated.

"There are many things I am prepared to die for Karai, but not nearly as many that I am willing to kill for. I have never killed before but if you are to be my first, I will loose no sleep over it because the safety of my brothers is everything to me." He stated.

"Death is the only way to keep me from exacting my revenge on your pitiful family!" Karai informed him as she quickly brought up her weapon and went for his heart.

A katana clattered to the floor, the sound echoing in the silence.

Gasping from the explosion of white hot pain, Karai collapsed to her knees, clutching at the hilt of Mikey's katana protruding from just below her sternum.

Michelangelo stepped away and looked down upon his wounded enemy, "There are worse things than death Karai."

Karai looked up and into his eyes,

"I have avenged my father and you have avenged your brother…It is done."

Mikey let out a sad sigh,

"There are always retributions that need to be paid. Don't you see Karai? Revenge is nothing but an endless cycle. But this is one cycle that will end tonight."

"My clan won't see it that way when I am gone." Karai informed him just before slumping to the floor.

Mikey was seemingly forgotten as several Foot soldiers rushed to the aid of their Mistress. He took advantage of the distraction and edged towards the door. If he moved fast he could sneak out and get to a manhole, then he'd be home free. However not everyone was distracted with Karai's defeat and Mikey turned to find several ninja blocking his way with their weapons pointed at him. He looked behind him to see that he was surrounded. He knew that this was the end, but he wasn't going to just give up. He was going to fight even though he knew it was futile. Mikey took one last deep breath and was ready to meet his fate.

Fate however didn't agree with him.

"Cover you eyes." A voice rang out. There wasn't time to process it but Mikey recognized and trusted that voice and he automatically complied with its command.

Even from the protected darkness his eyelids and his arm provided, Mikey could see a bright light flash. He lowered his arm and opened his eyes to see that the floor was littered with bodies. Every single person beside himself was unconscious. He jumped in surprise when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He whirled around,

"Donnie!" Mikey engulfed his brother in a one armed, bone crushing hug.

"You don't know how glad I am to see ya bro!"

"Mikey, your shoulder-" Don reached for his injured brother, but Mikey pulled away.

"Not now. We gotta get back to April's before Bishop."

"Bishop!? Mikey what's going on?"

"No time, come on." Mikey ran out into the cool night air with Donnie hot on his heels.

**A/N: So, you likey? **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Hi ya I'm Back!!!! Has it really been seven months since I've updated? Wow, sorry about that, time sure flies. Though in my defence I've had a rough couple of months. New job in December followed by a new boyfriend (not so rough) in Febuary. It was good for a few months, my boyfriend and I s=decided to get a place together at the end of May. We were just moving in when I found out that he was a pathological lier. He lied to me about everything from his finances, to having a kid that he denies is his and a whole bunch of other things. So in a matter of 36 hours I had moved into a house, started painting it and moved out again. This all happened three weeks ago! Enough of my rantng I'm sure that you just want to read the story huh?

Before you start though, keep in mind that the first three sections are happening basically at the same time, that's why I separated them with _______ It goes back to normaly after the IIIIIIIIII like I usually do. Enjoy!

IIIIIIIIII

Chapter 15

"Rrrr" Raphael roared as he pounded the window frame with his good hand, "This sucks! I hate feelin' so…so"

"Useless?" Leo supplied. "Welcome to the club, bro." He added with a small, understanding smile.

"Yeah, well I wanna cancel my membership." Raph sighed.

Raph abandoned his vigil at the window and limped to the bed and sat down next to Leo. He looked worriedly at his brother, who's breathing sounded labored and slightly wheezy.

Leo noticed his brothers gaze.

"I'm fine Raph."

Raph narrowed his eyes and glared at his brother.

"Cut the bullshit Leo. We both know that coughing up blood is not a good thing an' ya can hardly catch yer breath."

Silence took over as neither brother wanted to speak about what would happen if Leo didn't get the medical attention he needed soon.

"Go patch yourself up Raph, you're a mess and bleeding all over April's bedroom." Leo said, breaking the silence.

"You think I'm a mess? You should look at them other guys." Raph said jokingly as he gathered Don's supplies and returned to his brothers side. "There was jus' too many of 'em." He whispered, not really intending for Leo to hear, but Leo heard anyway.

Leo didn't say anything about how he understood how he felt and how he had been in a similar situation, knowing that Raph would just brush it off. Instead, Leo settled for laying a comforting hand on his brothers shoulder. Raph seemed to accept the gesture and started to clean and dress his wounds.

Raph brought up his mangled hand and inspected it. It was severely swollen and purplish in color from the bruises. His fingers were obviously broken and from the odd angle that his thumb was at, he suspected it too was broken, but from examining it further he discovered it was only dislocated. There wasn't anything he could do about the bones in his hand, but he could set his fingers just as he has done many times in the past. Raph gave a resigned sigh before he set his features into a look of determination.

Before he could change his mind, Raph grabbed his thumb with his good hand and gave a quick jerk. He gave a short moan of pain as his joint popped back into its proper place. Without hesitation he set his other two fingers and splinted all three with popsicle sticks and gauze. The deed left Raph panting and the sweat mixed with the dried blood on his face causing it to streak down his face.

"Damn that hurt like shell." Raph commented.

"It looked painful. What other…injuries do…you have?" Leo asked, sounding as though he had just run a marathon.

Raph stared at his brother with concern in his eyes but Leo only stared right back, his look saying _'Don't concern yourself with me and you better tell me the truth'_

Raph gave a grunt, "My knee is pretty screwed up, I know Don'll kill me if I mess with it but other wise mainly jus' some ugly bruises and minor scrapes." Leo nodded and Raph continued to clean himself up.

Raph was just finishing up bandaging up his last cut when heard Leo shift. When he looked at his brother, Raph saw the serious look on his face. He knew this look. Something was wrong.

"What's up Leo?" He asked in a whisper.

"I saw movement outside." Was Leo's reply.

Raph carefully stood up and casually made his way to the window. After a few moments he too saw movement out of the corner of his eye a few roof tops away.

_________

Donatello and Michelangelo were running as fast as they could towards Aprils' apartment, their thoughts centered on getting there in time. They were running faster than either could recall running before, it almost felt as if they were flying across the rooftops. At the pace they set, it wasn't long before they reached a junction where in one direction was April's place and the other was the Lair. It was the latter path that Mikey turned onto. Donnie fell slightly behind when his brother took the unexpected route.

"Mikey!" Don yelled from behind, "Aprils is the other way!"

"I know that bro, but Bishop is probably there." Mikey said as Donnie caught up. Don mentally slapped himself, of course Bishop would beat them there and he would have walked right into a trap.

"And if he is he will be ready for us" Mikey continued after taking a breath, "watching all the entrances except-"

"Except for our tunnel!" Donnie exclaimed, catching onto Mikey's train of thought, "Brilliant thinking Mikey!"

Mikey gave his brother an appreciative grin before turning all his energy back into running.

When they got close to the lair they descended into the sewers and continued their journey underground. When they came to the end of the tunnel, Mike and Don paused.

Both worked to calm their breathing and after a few moments Donnie stepped forward. He reached out and grabbed a small sewer pipe and pulled. A small portion of the pipe gave way.

Donnie looked over at Mikey, who nodded, then inverted the pipe and pushed it back in. A grinding sound filled their ears as a section of the wall was pushed out then slid open. By the time the door had fully opened, Don had taken a defensive stance with his bo staff out. Mikey could only bring up his good arm for defense. His left arm was useless and he didn't have time to look for his weapons back at the warehouse.

Both were relieved when they found their actions weren't needed. There was no one waiting behind the door.

They were in the basement, underneath the antique shop. There was a small room which April had once rented out, and a staircase leading to the shop above. Donnie started for the staircase when Mikey stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Donnie turned to him with a questioning look,

"Don, I think I should go up alone." Mikey said. Don blinked, dumbfounded at Mikey's statement.

"What!?" Donnie exclaimed. "You must've hit your head or something if you think that I would just let you go up there alone. Especially if there's a chance that Bishop is up there!"

"That is exactly why I should go up alone." Mikey said in all seriousness.

At the utter bewilderment Donnie was displaying, Mikey explained himself.

"Look, if Bishop _is _up there then that means he already has Raph and Leo, neither of them were in any condition to put up any resistance."

"But you and I could-"

"Could what Donnie? Fight Bishop _and_ all his commando troops he's bound to have with him? The four of us together could barely touch him."

Donnie sighed. Mikey spoke the truth. What chance did the two of them have?

"So what do we do?" Donnie asked.

"You stay here while I go check things out upstairs." Mikey replied.

"If Bishop is here then you will be caught and what would that accomplish?" In the back of his mind, Donnie knew the answer.

"I might be able to catch him off guard and take him out long enough to help Raph and Leo. He thinks Karai has me so he won't be expecting me."

"He wouldn't be expecting me either, why does it have to be you?" Donnie couldn't let his little brother knowingly walk into a trap.

"Because if one of s is to get caught, then the turtle on the out side has to be in top form for the rescue."

Donnie was right. He did know the answer. This was one of the few times that he wished that he could've been wrong. But he looked at Mikey's arm hanging limply at his side and his eyes traced the rivulets of blood up to the source. The wound in Mikey's shoulder was still bleeding, though not as profusely as before, and his breathing was still labored. His skin was a paler green than it should be, a sign of too much blood loss. Mikey wouldn't last long in a fight. He hated to admit it, but Mikey's point was valid.

Donnie gave a huge sigh, "We should wrap that up first."

Mikey took that as an acquisition,

"No time Donnie-Boy," Mikey said with a small smile and a reassuring squeeze of his brothers shoulder.

"Wait for me in the tunnel, with any lick we've beaten Bishop here and we'll be down soon." And without any hesitation Mikey swiftly made his way up the stairs.

"Good luck Mikey." Donnie whispered as he watched his brother disappear up the stairs.

__________

Bishop lowered his binoculars. He couldn't discern any movement inside, but his targets had to be there. Karai left awhile ago yes, but from her account neither target was in any condition to go anywhere.

"Squadron three, what is you position?" Bishop asked.

The answer came through his ear bud,

"Fifth and Kirkland, sir. They just left a medical supply store and it looks like they're heading to the truck rental on Kern."

"Excellent." Bishop replied. "Stay on them and notify me of any new developments."

"Yes sir!"

Bishop stood, straightened his clothing and sunglasses before addressing his men.

"Their human allies are on the other side of town and the fourth turtle is reported to be with them so we will have no interference. They are injured, but do not underestimate them. Wait for my signal. Dismissed."

Bishop watched as 100 men took up various positions around and under the target building. 20 men stayed behind to assist him in the initial infiltration. They should be enough, but he wasn't taking any chances. The men were armed with night vision goggles and modified weapons that shot tranquilizer darts, he would prefer them to be taken alive.

Bishop and his squadron silently made their way to the roof of the desired building and on his order the men began propelling down from the roof and entered the apartment through the living room windows. It was dark and quiet in the room as the searched. All rooms were cleared except the main bedroom. Bishop allowed a small smirk to play across his lips, soon he would have all the samples he needed. He caulked his weapon and without warning slammed his shoulder against the door, forcing it open.

He had his weapon poised and ready…but the room was empty. Bishop gave an uncharacteristic roar of frustration.

"How could they have escaped!? Neither was in any condition to move on their own!" Bishop activated his ear piece,

"Squadrons one and four search the building!" "Yes sir!"

For several minutes no one dared move in fear of enraging Bishop further.

"Sir, Basement clear."

"No sign of them in the store sir."

Instead of rage, Bishops face relaxed into a calm expression. One should be weary when Bishop is angry, but they should be in fear for their lives when he had this particular look

on his face.

IIIIIIIIII

Mikey's senses were on high alert as he used his stealth to quietly walk through the store and towards the stairs that led to the apartment above.

'_So far so good.' _He thought to himself when he found nothing out of the ordinary as he crossed the floor. Everything seemed normal. Mikey made it to the stairs and the way was clear but something was starting to feel wrong. It was a just feeling in the pit of his stomach, but Mikey learned a long time ago to listen to those feelings. The only problem now was that he didn't know what those feelings were trying to tell him.

"Stupid cryptic tummy-feelings are gonna give me an ulcer." Mikey mumbled as he continued up the stairs and into April's apartment.

The moment he stepped across the threshold, Mikey knew that something was definitely wrong, but it was too late to turn back now. He sensed a menacing presence as he walked to the back bedroom. He hesitated for a split second before opening the door, afraid of what he would find behind it, but knew he had to anyway. Slowly he turned the handle and gave the door a gentle push. The sound of guns being caulked behind him caused Mikey to look over his shoulder. He gulped at seeing the not too small hallway filled with men in Black Ops gear and big guns all pointed at him.

Mikey gulped, "Uh. What big guns you guys have."

One of the uniformed invaders actually snickered, but a sharp jab to the ribs from a neighbor set him back into 'don't-move-or-I'll-shoot-you' mode.

"All the better to kill you with my dear Michelangelo."

Mikey cringed at the sound of that voice. He hated the man attached to it and he still occasionally woke up from a nightmare from their first encounter. Mikey turned around slowly so as not to give anyone cause to shoot him and faced his foe with a brave face.

"Bishop" Mikey was proud of himself that he managed to keep his voice form trembling.

Bishop chuckled, "Looks like my luck has changed. I've swapped one specimen for three."

Michelangelo's heart skipped a beat as he quickly scanned the room for his brothers.

They were nowhere in sight.

"Funny but I don't see anyone in here 'cept a pathetic mad scientist wanna be." Mikey quipped.

Bishop's hand shot out so fast that Mikey failed to avoid it. Mikey gasped in surprise and pain as Bishop seized his injured shoulder.

Bishop was seething, "This wanna be as you so eloquently call me is going to have fun hearing you scream and watching you squirm as I carve you up."

Bishop gave a squeeze, eliciting a hiss from his prisoner before he roughly released him.

Mikey fell into the waiting hands of the soldiers behind him. For the second time that night, Mikey had his hands pulled behind his shell and tied. His shoulder was screaming at him and he felt fresh rivets of blood slide down his arm, but he didn't utter a sound.

"As for your brothers," Mikey snapped his head up to meet Bishops gaze, "my informant told me of their state of health and I am confident that my men can contain them with little effort."

Mikey smirked, "You have to find them first."

Bishops confident sneer never left his face, "I'm sure they are around here somewhere, their injuries would have prevented them from getting too far. Besides I have the building surrounded above _and _below. There is no escape."

Mikey's cocky grin faded slightly, "And once they hear that I have you, they will come to me with open arms." This caused Mikey's smile to fall completely because he knew this was true.

"Now if you would so kindly as to step into my office we can continue this riveting conversation in private while my associates retrieve my next appointments."

After a nudge in the shoulder and seeing no other choice, Mikey stepped into the room. Bishop dismissed all but two of his men to search. These two he stationed outside the room and shut the door.

Mikey tried to suppress the growing fear that threatened to consume him as Bishop walked towards him.

"Kneel" Bishop ordered.

Mikey kept his narrowed eyes on Bishops in blatant refusal. Mikey knew he would be reprimanded but he couldn't help but making things as unpleasant for Bishop as he could. Though getting the wind knocked out of you from a punch to your gut would have you rethinking your not-so-well-thought-out-plan.

"I told you to kneel." Bishop growled as he used Mikey's disorientation to force him to his knees.

Bishop remained silent while the pathetic creature regained his breath. When Mikey could breathe again he wisely decided to humor his captor, for now anyway.

Mikey kept his eyes on Bishop as he paced back and forth as he talked.

"I have to say that I am surprised to see you here. I knew Karai didn't have the fortitude to kill you but how did you manage to escape with the entire Foot Clan in attendance?" Bishop asked.

Mikey clamped his mouth shut and stared at the floor in defiance. He wasn't surprised and even expected the strike he received but that didn't lessen the pain it caused.

"You will speak when spoken to." Bishop said flatly.

Mikey's response to spit out the blood that had collected in his mouth onto the floor at Bishop's feet.

"Come now no need for stoicism, I am merely curious." Mikey still refused to cooperate fully.

Bishop's patience was starting to wear thin. He once again gripped Mikey's injured shoulder and smiled as a gasp escaped the turtles lips.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." Bishop taunted as he tightened his grip. Mikey sucked in his breath as the pain intensified.

"Sh-she challenged me t-to a duel a-and I w-won, r-ran a sword through her st-stomach." Mikey stammered out.

Bishop released him, but Mikey's shoulder continued to throb.

"Karai is a formidable opponent by herself," Bishop commented as he wiped off Mikey's blood from his hand, "even if you did manage to slay her as you said you did, how could you escape the fury of all those revenge seeking ninja?" Bishop asked in a seemingly disinterested tone.

Mikey knew better. He wanted to know if he had help escaping and where that help was now. Mikey would never betray Donnie. He sighed and slumped a little, trying to look like he was giving up. He had to make this convincing.

"This isn't the first time a threat to my family has given me the strength to accomplish the impossible." Mikey said, remembering his rematch with Kluh.

Bishop stared into Mikey's eyes searching for deception.

"But it was your last." Bishop said with a smirk. Then he pulled out an ear piece from inside his jacket and placed it in his ear,

"Squadrons two, four and five maintain the perimeter. Do not let anyone exit the building and notify me when our last guest returns."

"Yes sir. Am I to presume your mission was a success?"

"Affirmative. Specimen was contained without difficulty . Bishop out." Bishop deactivated the devise and put it away.

"Soon I will finally get to finish what I started when we first met."

Mikey gulped. He didn't see how he and his brothers were going to get out of this one.

**A/N: **So was it worth the wait? I kinda wrote myself into a corner. I didn't plan on having Mikey caught by Bishop and I have no idea how to get him out of it, so if any one has any idaes plase feel free to pass them on to me. I know I've said this before but I really will try this time to be quicker on the update!! Talk at ya later!!!!! ;)


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Okay, here it is. Finally I blame writers block, no time and life in general for my lateness**. **Hope you enjoy!!!**

"How ya doin' bro?"

"Raph if you ask me that one more time, I'm going to have to hurt you." Leo threatened.

The harshness was fake and almost playful but Leo was really tired of Raph asking him that question.

They had made it down into the basement before the building was infiltrated, with Raph carrying his brother piggy-back. Much to Leo's embarrassment.

"We need to find a place to hide." Leo said.

Raph bit back a smart ass remark when Leo went into a coughing fit. Leo put all his focus on suppressing the coughing for silence sake, causing the pain in his ribs to flare. Over the little noise that Leo was making, Raph heard footsteps coming down the stairs and into the store. He quickly ducked into the nearest room in order to avoid the shadow that was rounding the corner.

A closet. A small, cluttered, standing room only closet. Raph once again cursed his turtle luck as he closed the door, trying not to make a sound. After a few minutes of silence, Raph figured it was safe and let out the breath he'd been holding. He was about to say something when Leo covered his mouth and pointed down. Where the light was filtering in from underneath the door, shadows could be seen moving around. Someone was out side.

It wasn't the Foot. The turtles could tell because they could hear voices coming from just outside the door and even the lowest members of the Foot Clan were competent enough to be silent when searching. Raph would almost prefer them to be Foot soldiers out there than what he suspected them to be. Bishop's men. Raph could feel his heart begin to beat faster and Leo involuntary stiffened up when the door knob turned and the door opened.

They were behind the door, backed against the wall as it opened holding their breath. They had nowhere to hide and nowhere to go. The door was pushed open more and it stopped when it hit Raph's chest. A beam of light penetrated the darkness, shining on the contents of the closet. Leo looked through the crack of the door hinge and saw more of Bishop's troops lurking around. They might have had a chance against one or two of these guys, but they had no hope of defeating the dozen or so Leo spied.

The intruder took a cautious step further inside with his tranq-gun aimed and ready. Leo knew that this was it. Him and his brother were going to be caught. Maybe he could make a deal with Bishop like he did with Karai? Would Bishop even honor any such deal? A radio crackling to life brought Leo out of his musings,

"Report!" Bishop's voice boomed over the connection. The soldier visibly winced at the intensity but recovered quickly.

"Basement is clear Sir." He replied.

"Scout the area, they couldn't have gone far." Bishop commanded.

The seemingly insignificant closet forgotten, the area was soon cleared and Leo and Raph could breath again, safe, for the moment at least. Raph again closed the door and leaned with his forehead against it, more out of relief than anything but now that the adrenaline was winding down he felt fatigued and aches in his back and arms for carrying Leo for so long. Not to mention that all his other injuries were making themselves known again, especially his knee, which was throbbing so hard it felt like it was going to explode.

"Raph"

Leo's voice broke through his self absorbent thoughts and immediately calmed him. He had really missed that in his big brothers absence.

"If you set me down by that shelf," Leo indicated behind them, "I can hold myself up for a while and give you a rest."

Raph hesitated, he was tired and sore but Leo was too injured to stand for long, if he could even stand. Leo sensed his brother's hesitation and gave him a light smack on the head.

"I'll be fine, now put me down."

"Ya sure?" Raph asked, sounding truly concerned.

"You can't carry me forever Raph." Leo said, speaking not only about this moment but the future as well.

"Fine." Raph sighed in defeat.

He turned around and maneuvered himself so that Leo was right beside the shelving unit. Leo reached out with his left arm and placed it on the shelf at shoulder height.

"Ready?" Raph asked.

"Yeah" Leo answered as he braced himself.

Raph carefully crouched down, ignoring the screaming pain from his knee and placed Leo's feet on the ground. Raph didn't really want to, but it was something that had to be asked.

"Can ya feel the floor?"

"No."

Leo sounded almost resigned and that hurt Raph more than any of his injuries. Neither wanted to push the matter further at the moment so they just let it be, for now, although sooner or later both knew that it would come up again. That's is if they could get themselves out of their current situation alive.

"I'm good Raph, really. Now go and secure the door."

For once Raph followed the order without any protesting attitude. His brother was just as proud as he was and both of them hated for anyone to see them when they felt weak. So Raph limped to the door and stared at it, looking for some way to keep unwanted company from entering and not having much luck. After having a brief look around and finding nothing to use as a barricade, Raph decided to use himself, so he leaned his shell against the door. This provided a fortification and some relief from his wounded knee with the pressure taken off of it. With those two problems taken care of for the time being, his thoughts were left to wander and they strayed to his missing brothers. Mikey, who was taken from him right before his eyes by one of their most hated enemies and Donnie, who alone had to face an army in order to rescue him. Raph cursed the damn 'Turtle Luck'.

Meanwhile, Leo was struggling to keep himself upright. Of course it would be easier if he could feel his legs. It was a weird feeling. He knew his feet were on the ground and his legs were underneath him, but he had no sensation what-so-ever of actually standing. He couldn't _feel _it. The thoughts and emotions of despair were threatening to overwhelm him, but he wouldn't allow them to take over. Not now, not while his family was still in danger. Maybe when this was all over and his family was safe, maybe then he would let these selfish and pitying thoughts have their way.

At some point during this brief internal conflict, Leo had started coughing. Whether it was from his emotional thoughts or from his difficulty breathing he didn't know. He tried to keep it quiet as he did last time, so as not to worry Raph but it ended up being too much and he couldn't keep it all in. Three violent coughs broke through before Leo got the fight under a semblance of control.

Leo's coughing interrupted Raph's brooding thoughts and put a halt to his rapidly growing anger. He left his post as the door stopper to see to his brother, but Leo waved him off,

"I'm-" But Leo couldn't finish before he was overcome with more coughing.

It was by far the worst fit yet and after the first few being so loud, Leo put his beak into the crook of his arm in attempt to stifle the noise. His ribs were burning with pain as he tried to suppress this fit, but the more he fought it, the more violent it became. But he knew he couldn't make any noise for fear that someone would hear and come to investigate.

Raph could see what his brother was doing and what it was doing to him. And he didn't know how he could help. He didn't know what to do. The fit continued and Leo had to use his hand to physically keep his mouth shut. Tears started to leak out the corners of his eyes. He couldn't hear his brothers attempts at comforting and encouraging words, nor did he notice the sticky wetness on his hand. He did feel that at any moment that his chest would explode.

Then without warning there was a strong metallic taste in his mouth and he was no longer coughing, but choking. Raph noticed the change and took action by removing his brothers hand from his mouth and inserted his finger, clearing out the blood. Leo was wheezing heavily, but he could breath now.

So concerned and focused on his brother was Raph that he didn't notice the door to their last minute refuge was opening…

IIIIIIIIII

Raph didn't know that the door had opened until he heard it bang against the wall behind it. In an instant he had whirled around and took a defensive stance between his brother and the intruder. The light spilling in from the hallway bathed the unexpected visitor in shadow. Raph felt the adrenaline building in his system and he let out one of his characteristic growls as he sprang forward in attack.

"Wait!" The trespasser said.

The recognizable voice registered just after Raph leaped into the attack and he was deflected with a familiar weapon. One he has fought against countless times before…in training.

"It's me Raph!" Donatello said after he redirected his brothers strike.

"Damn it Donnie, give a turtle a heart attack why don't ya!?"

There was no spite in Raph's words and the smile that played on his lips showed Donnie just how glad he was to see him.

"Sorry" Donnie said as he moved towards Leo, already going into 'Doctor Mode'.

His eyes went wide when he saw the blood trickling from Leo's mouth. Leo was struggling for breath as Donnie took his wrist to check his pulse. Leo managed a small half smile half grimace that said, 'I'm fine-but-I-know-that-you-know-I'm-really-not'.

"When did this start and does he have any other symptoms?" He asked as he started riffling through the shelves and boxes.

"Uh, I noticed the coughing up blood thing after Karai…left." Donnie noticed the pause and wanted to tell his brothers all about Mikey but he knew that, at least for now, Leo took a higher priority.

Raph bit back the rising emotions and continued,

"And he's been have trouble breathin' since I woke up."

"You lost consciousness?" New concern entered Donnie's mind for Raph. He needed to be checked out as soon as possible.

"Fearless needs your focus right now Don," Raph insisted and Don reluctantly admitted that he was right and nodded his agreement.

"That's it?" He asked now putting stuff he had found into an empty bag.

"Yeah"

"Okay, we need to get him some place where he can lie down and I can have room to work, but where?"

A few tense moments passed before he snapped his fingers, a light bulb going off in his head,

"Kirby's apartment!"

"April's old tenant?" Raph asked.

"Yes, it's perfect. It's not far from here and it's partially concealed in the sub-basement." Donnie responded, ticking off the points on his fingers.

"Right, but yer gonna hafta help Leo." Raph didn't need to say 'because I can't' and he was grateful for that.

"Like I was going to _let_ you carry him. Donnie lightly teased Raph as he slung Leo's arm over his shoulders and lifted him onto his back.

Raph followed Donnie out the door after slinging the bag onto his back so his hands were free. Both were silent as they made their way through the hallway.

Raph was only a step behind his brothers, acting as lookout fro anyone who wanted to sneak up behind them. When he gave the hallway behind them a once-over, he noticed a trail of blood leading in and out of their temporary hide out. He knew it wasn't his, none of his injured were bleeding any more. He also knew that it wasn't Leo's. No way as he coughing up that much blood. The blood was fresh, not quite the bright red it was after being exposed to the oxygen in the air.

"Donnie!" Raph admonished, managing to sound angry and concerned at the same time.

Donnie visibly cringed, but didn't stop.

"It's not as bad as you think." He replied, "Besides it's just like you said, Leo is more important right now."

Raph grunted, "That may be but yer leavin' a trail." Raph smirked when Donnie cursed quietly. "Go on ahead, I'll clean it up and meet ya there."

Donnie nodded and continued with Leo to the sub-basement.

Raph was quick with the clean up and met up with the others just as Donnie was lying Leo on the floor. He shut and locked the door. It wouldn't hold anyone out for long, but it would at least serve as a warning.

After Donnie had laid Leo down, Raph noticed his mask wasn't where it was supposed to be. Instead of over his eyes, it was wrapped tightly up and around his shoulder and the purple that it should have been was darkened by blood. It looked wet, meaning that the wound was fresh and hadn't stopped bleeding yet. The next thing that Raph noticed was that Donnie was favoring that arm as he sifted through the supplies. But he held his tongue because Donnie would just ignore him until Leo was stabilized.

Donnie was aware of Raph's scrutiny and was thankful for his silence on the matter, though he knew it wouldn't last long. For right now he concentrated on helping his brother.

Donnie wordlessly thanked April for keeping a stock of medical supplies. He didn't have exactly what he needed but he could make due with what he had. Once he had all his supplies out he signal for Raph to come over. He only wanted to explain himself once.

Raph kneeled down by Leo and took his hand. Donnie took a deep breath,

"Hey Leo," Donnie said as he took his brothers other hand, "I know that you're have trouble breathing but I need you to concentrate on me for a minute. Can you do that for me?"

Leo heard his brother and it took all of his will power to calm down. He slowed his breathing and opened his eyes. He looked into Donatello's face and he noticed that something was wrong with what he was seeing but he couldn't discern what and that bugged him.

"Good." Donnie praised, "Now I believe the reason why you're coughing up blood and can't breath well is because your cracked ribs have broken completely and pierced one or both of your lungs." Leo nodded to show that he understood so far.

Seeing his brothers acknowledgement Donnie continued, "First I need to feel your ribs." Again Leo nodded.

Donnie was as careful as he could be while he felt for the offending ribs. Leo gave a hiss of pain when Donnie got to his right side.

"Ok that's good, you only have one collapsed lung on the right side. Now I can fix this by putting in a chest tube, but it's not going to be easy on your part." Donnie's eyes flicked up to Raph for a brief moment to make sure he was following along before he looked back down to Leo.

"I don't have an anesthetic to give you Leo and I don't want to risk giving you any morphine because of what happened last time. So this is going to be _extremely_ painful. Are you with me so far?" Leo nodded

"Good. I can't have you move during the procedure so Raph is going to have to hold you down." Don once again seeked Raph's gaze and held it. Raph nodded his acknowledgment of his duties. "Are you ok with that?" He asked Leo.

Leo gave a firm nod.

"Right. Leo I'm going to bring your arms up over your head so you're stretched out for me." Donnie was really careful not to cause his brother any undue pain but it wasn't totally avoidable.

Raph moved to above Leo's head and grasped his arms just at his shoulders. For added stability and comfort Leo grasped his brothers elbows.

"I gotchya bro." Raph said.

"I know." Leo whispered.

Don cleaned the site with rubbing alcohol followed by the knife he'd found. He used this time to gather himself for what he was about to do. He brought the knife to Leo's skin,

"I'm going to make the incision now." Hw warned both brothers and pushed the knife in.

IIIIIIIIII

Mikey didn't bother to get up right away after this last blow. It hit him square on the jaw, knocking him off his knees and onto his side. One eye was already swollen shut but he kept his good eye on his abuser.

Mikey hadn't totally given up hope yet but he was starting to find it really hard to come up with an escape plan between the relentless questions and subsequent beatings for refusing to answer those questions.

"I'm loosing my patience with you reptile!" Bishop said, his voice crisp and serious. "Where are the others?"

"Dude I don't know!" Mikey half groaned, half growled.

He was kind of telling the truth. He knew where Donnie was but he wasn't about to tell Bishop. As for Leo and Raph, Mikey had no clue. Maybe Bishop had them and he was just toying with him? That would be his sick style, but no. Bishop didn't have them. He was too furious at Mikey's 'uncooperativeness' to be acting.

Bishop made to kick Mikey while he was down, and Mikey couldn't help but flinch. Bishop grinned with pleasure at this response.

"Very well. We'll just move on to the next question then."

Mikey sighed with relief. He would answer any other question-

"Where is you base of operations?"

Except that one. Maybe playing dumb will work. It's worked for him before.

"Base of operations?" Mikey asked in a questioning tone as he got back up to his knees. His shoulder was starting to hurt lying on the floor.

Bishop got the impatient look in his eyes again. The one that told Mikey that he was going to be hit again soon if he didn't answer.

Bishop sigh with irritation, "Yes your Base of Operations! Your Command Center! Where ever it is you go when you're not reeking havoc in this city!!!"

"You mean my home? Where I live?" Mikey asked, just to clarify of course.

"If that is what you want to call it fine! Where do you live?" Bishop asked through gritted teeth.

"Dude, you're totally whack if you think I'm gonna tell you that!" Mikey gave a little chuckle at the end of his cheeky statement.

He knew as soon as the words left his mouth he was in trouble.

Bishop was lightning fast. He picked Mikey up by the throat with very little effort and placed a perfect side kick to his stomach that sent the turtle flying across the room and crashing into April's vanity. The mirror shattered and several small pieces of glass cut into Mikey's arms. The wind was knocked out of him and he fell back down to the ground gasping for breath. Before he could regain control of his breathing, Bishop had once again grabbed him by his throat and slammed him against the wall with his feet dangling a good foot above the ground. His grip around Mikey's throat was just tight enough to restrict his intake of air but not to cut it off completely. However, it was enough to cause Mikey to panic. He struggled, trying to kick out at Bishop and make him let go. Cold metal at his temple made Mikey cease all movement and hold stock still.

Bishop was holding his side arm, a 9 mm, at Mikey's head.

"You are becoming more trouble than you are worth. Maybe I should just kill you now. It would make your dissection a whole lot easier without you squirming around."

Bishop smiled, relishing in the turtles fear and cocked the hammer on the gun.

**A/N: Yeah I know, killer cliffie huh?** **A review would be nice very welcome!** **Until next time then!!!!!! ;)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: No excuses. Enjoy!**

Chapter 17

Who was it that said you'll see your life flash before your eyes in the instant before your death? It doesn't matter who said it, they were right.

Michelangelo not only saw his life, he relived it.

_He was a small turtle tot, sitting on the floor cradling a freshly skinned knee. He felt the sting of the antiseptic Splinter used to clean the minor scrape, his gentle touch as he wiped away the tears and the warmth of his father's body as he received his comforting hug…._

_The fun times he's had with his brothers-_

_Donatello teaching him new games like chess when they were nine. At 14 when Raphael gave him his extra blanket when that winter proved to be one of the coldest they had to endure. The countless times Leonardo sparred with him in the dojo, teaching and learning from each other._

_Meeting April and later Casey, along with Leatherhead and their other friends gave him a feeling of acceptance he never thought he'd feel._

_But along with the happy moments came the not-so-good and the down right horrible._

_It was happening all over again._

_There first home being invaded and destroyed by the mousers, the countless fights with the Purple Dragons and the Foot Clan where him and his brothers often got hurt. The worry and dread they all felt when Splinter was missing. The fear when they were captured and almost dissected by Agent Bishop. Yet, somehow they have always managed to survive._

_But even with these unpleasant moments, their lives have been filled with awesome adventures that most (if any) humans could or ever would experience and Michelangelo wasn't ready to let any of it go. Not yet._

In that one moment, when he relived his life, he realized that their life wasn't all that bad. But it would be for his family if he was forced to leave them all behind.

He made his decision.

He wasn't going to let Bishop take him away from his family.

Michelangelo's eyes snapped open and he glared at his would be killer.

"I'm going to have as much fun with you as I did with your brother." Bishop sneered.

That was the wrong thing to say! For a second time that night, a familiar feeling came over the orange-banded turtle.

Bishop was so close to the turtle that he never saw the turtles knee before it hit his groin. Mikey immediately followed with a head butt into the mans nose. Bishop was shocked enough to let go of him and Mikey landed in a crouch just as the gun discharged. He missed getting a bullet in the head by a nanosecond but he didn't pause, he kicked out with his leg and swept Bishop off his feet. The agent fell onto his back with a thud but he kept a vice-like grip on his weapon. Mikey used his lightning fast reflexes and sat on the mans chest pinning his arms to the floor with his knees.

Bishop had to admit that he was surprised and impressed with the turtles speed and he couldn't wait to find out how it was possible. The turtle had the advantage at the moment but he was injured with his hands and arms incapacitated. It was only a matter of time before exhaustion would overcome him. He just had to bide his time and make the turtle use up his energy.

IIIIIIIIII

Donnie had just finished up the last stitch when a loud crash sounded from upstairs.

"What da shell was that?" Raph asked.

"Raph watch Leo, I got to go help Mikey!" Donnie said as he stood up and dashed out the door.

"Mikey? Wait! Don!" But Raph was too late, his brother was already gone. He was confused. _'What's goin' on?'_

Then Raph heard a single shot ring out followed by a thud. Raph didn't know what to think and all he could do was wait.

IIIIIIIIII

Bishop struggled and wiggled from underneath the turtle, half trying to get free and half trying to wear the turtle down.

Michelangelo knew he had to get his hands fee if he had any chance to come out of this alive but in order to do that he had to get the gun far, far away. But that wasn't likely to happen unless he could overpower Bishop, which Mikey wouldn't be able to do with his hands tied behind his shell. _'Damn catch 22'_ Mikey thought.

Bishop's wiggling had Mikey a little worried so he did a little jump on the agents chest. The result was a muffled 'oaf' as the air was pushed out of the mans lungs, making it more difficult for him to breathe. Bishops plan didn't account for the lack of air so in a moment of desperation he twisted his hand holding the gun and pointed it as best he could at the turtle. Mikey saw what was happening and leaned forward just as Bishop pulled the trigger and felt air whirl by his head as the bullet missed his target. Bishop growled in frustration.

Mikey smiled as much because of his luck at dodging a second bullet as at his current position. He was practically nose to nose with Bishop. A childhood tease popped into his head and he couldn't help himself,

"Missed me, missed me now ya gotta kiss me!" He taunted.

This infuriated Bishop to no end and in his renewed and earnest struggling to get away from the stupid reptile, he dropped the gun. A very brief wrestling match ensued where Bishop managed to roll Mikey off of him but Mikey just rolled with the flow and when he was on his shell he wrapped his legs around Bishops waist, trapping his arms at his side.

"Give it up Bish, I can beat you with both arms tied behind my back. Pun _totally_ intended!" Mikey chuckled as he saw Bishops face turn a new shade of red.

Bishop leaned so far back trying to escape that he fell backwards, bringing the turtle back on top of him. Bishop stared bucking wildly in his desire to get free, '_This turtle is going to pay!'_

"Yee haw. Ride 'em cowboy!" Mikey hollered in a perfect old western accent.

Even though Mikey was joking around he was growing more worried. How much longer could he keep this up? Bishop was strong and uninjured. Mikey knew it was only a matter of time before his exhaustion and injuries caught up with him.

Gunfire echoed from out in the hallway and caused both man and turtle to momentarily cease all movement and look towards the door. Bishop used the distraction to his advantage and gave a huge thrust that lifted the turtle up enough to free his arms. He used one of his newly freed arms and landed a punch on the turtles jaw that was so hard that Michelangelo was knocked completely off, landing hard on his injured shoulder. Pain laced through the turtle and he cried out. He hurriedly tried to compose himself, blinking and shaking his head, managing to make it to his knees before Bishop once again had the gun pressed to his temple.

"No more chances, you are finished."

"Wait! Whatever happened to 'any last words'?"

"Why bother asking? Lights out freak!"

Mikey squeezed his eyes shut, _'I'm sorry bro's! I tried my best to get back to you. I guess my best just wasn't good enough.'_

A single shot echoed in the room followed by a body hitting the floor.

"Lights out, freak." Donatello said as he lowered the shot gun from his position in the doorway.

The gun clattered to the floor as he dropped it and rushed to his brothers side.

"Mikey!" Donnie kneeled down in front of his brother, "Mikey are you okay?" Concern laced Donnie's voice because Mikey didn't seem to hear him. His eyes were still shut, squeezed tight.

"Michelangelo!" Donnie said as he gave his brother a little shake.

His unswollen eye slowly opened and after seeing that it was his brother before him, he allowed himself to relax a little.

"I'm not dead?"

"No, you're not dead."

"Hallucinating?"

"No"

"Good" Mikey let out a huge breath, "Can ya untie me now? My shoulder's killin' me."

With a small smile Donnie gladly obliged. Mikey stood up only to have his legs give out, but Donnie was right there to catch him before he fell.

"Thanks bro." Mikey said as Donnie helped him back up. He didn't let go until he was sure that his brother wouldn't fall again.

"You look terrible, are you sure you're okay?" Donnie asked as he quickly looked over the new injuries.

"Yes Dr. Don," Mike said with an exaggerated sigh, "nothing that a couple days nap wouldn't cure. On second thought, make that a week." Donnie chuckled. It was nice to have his goofy, joking brother back.

As they walked past Bishop, Mikey saw the dart sticking out of his neck.

"How long will he be out?" Mikey asked his brother.

"Long enough to pick up Raph and Leo and get the shell out of here."

"You found 'em? Are they okay? Raph looked pretty bad when-"

"Mikey, calm down. They're a little worse for ware but they're stable."

Out in the hallway they had to step over quite a few bodies.

"Uh, Don?" "Yeah?"

"Remind me never to piss you off." Donnie chuckled.

Then Mike spotted the darts and bullet holes in the walls and recalled the gunfire he had heard. He stopped in his tracks abruptly causing Donatello to bump into him. A small hiss escaped the purple banded turtle.

"Donatello!" Mikey admonished.

"What?" Donnie asked innocently. Mikey only glared at him. "Where were you hit?" He demanded. "I wasn't-" Donnie tried but Mikey cut him off. "There are way too many bullet holes in here for you _not_ to get hit so don't even try telling me that you weren't"

"It's nothing serious." Donnie tried to reassure his brother but Mikey wasn't buying it. Donnie sighed. He knew Mikey wouldn't budge until he came clean. "They're just grazes." He gestured to left bicep and thigh. "Those are some deep grazes." Mikey answered after he inspected them.

"Yeah, it looks like I got off easy on this venture." Donnie said in grim humor. This time Mikey chuckled.

IIIIIIIIII

"Damn Mikey!" Raph exclaimed as his brothers walked into the room. "Ya look like hell." To anyone else Raph would have sounded uncaring but his family knew him better. Mikey easily picked out the concerned undertone in his voice. "What happened to ya bro?"

"Uh, a duel with Karai, a mad dash across town and a wrestling match with Bishop." Mikey ticked off on his fingers. "All in all it was a pretty boring day." Mikey said as he faked nonchalance, wincing as his stretching pulled at his injuries.

Raph raised a non-believing eyebrow, "Seriously?" Mikey liked to embellish his stories quite a bit. He glanced towards Donnie and received a nod of confirmation.

"Yeah dude, seriously." Mikey sighed. Raph had so many questions but there was no time at the moment for questioning and Mikey looked like he was about to pass out.

"What happened to Leo?" Mikey asked almost going into panic mode.

"He's fine Mike, Don jus' had ta put in a chest tube thingy 'cause ah…he, um…he…Don?"

"A broken rib pierced one of his lungs." Donnie automatically replied as he checked Leo's vitals.

"That sounds really serious." Mikey replied.

"Hell be fine, but we need to get him back to the lair as soon as possible." Donnie stated.

"Fine by be. I can't wait to get outta here, I have a date with my bed." Mikey joked.

"We need something to carry Leo on, like a stretcher…" Donnie looked around for anything useful.

"How 'bout the door?" Raph suggested.

"That could work." Donnie agreed.

Raph and Mike held the door up while Donnie removed the hinges and then they laid it down next to Leo. After they moved Leo onto the door, Mikey stood up too fast and got really dizzy. He would have fallen over if Raph hadn't noticed and steadied him.

"Stood up too fast." Mikey mumbled as explanation.

"Can ya pull it together enough ta help Donnie carry Leo?" Raph whispered to Mikey.

"You're really that bad off?" Mikey asked now even more concerned.

"I wouldn't even be able to grip the door my hand is so screwed up and my knee… I can barely even walk as it is." Raph grudgingly admitted. "I'd only slow ya down, in fact you guys should go on ahead and leave me here-"

"No way" "Not happening bro"

"Jus' listen' will ya!?" Raph shouted to be heard over his brothers protests. "It would be faster an' betta fer Leo if ya take 'im home first. Then ya can come back an' get me."

Both Mikey and Donnie opened their mouths to protest but Raph wasn't having any of it.

"Hey, Leo is outta commission so that leaves me in command so what I say goes, ya hear me!?"

Don and Mikey exchange glances. Raph has never pulled the rank card on them before.

"Now quit your gawkin' and get goin', that's an order!"

Don nodded and took his place at Leo's head. Mikey dashed over to his red banded brother and gave him a firm but gentle hug, mindful of his injuries. Before Raph could respond Mikey was gone and went to his spot by Leo's feet.

"We'll be back before ya know it bro." Mikey said as they hoisted Leo on the make-shift stretcher. "Yeah and try to keep off that knee while we're gone." Donnie yelled over his shoulder.

"Whatever." Raph said as he sat down.

"And keep it elevated!"

"Yeah yeah."

"And try-"

"Don, the sooner ya leave the sooner ya can come back an' play doctor on me, alright?"

"Fine." Donnie conceded.

"Sit tight bro!" Mikey chuckled.

"Get goin' shell-fer-brains!" Raph watched as his brothers leave. As Mikey left the room he looked over his shoulder and gave his brother a wink before disappearing into the hallway. Raph got as comfortable as he could and waited for his brothers to return.

IIIIIIIIII

Upstairs, Bishop's eyes snapped open and he stood up. He grabbed the tranq gun on his way out of the room with a determined gleam reflected in his eyes.

**A/N: This chapter was supposed to be longer but then so would have been the update. Good news is that all I have to do is type the next chapter. It should be up by the end of the week, hopefully!! ;)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Ok, I know this is two days later than I told some of you that it would be but I have a really good reason this time! I pinched a nerve in my left hand, leaving it unusable for two weeks and I had to type this one handed and it took me FOREVER. But at least you only had to wait two days and not six months like last time right? Enjoy!**

Chapter 18

It took longer to get Leo home than Donnie had wanted, almost an hour had past since they left Raph. They had to tread carefully over slippery and littered sewer floors and seeing as dropping Leo would have been a very bad thing, they had no choice but to take their time. This only gave Mikey's worry time to grow. Leo was drifting in and out of consciousness, but when he was awake he only mumbled nonsense. Donnie said it was the combination of shock and the fever he recently developed. Then, worry for one brother was warring for dominance for the worry of another. He hated leaving Raph, hardly capable of defending himself, but delaying care for Leo was just as bad. He felt he was exchanging the life of one for the other, something they had all agreed not to do.

"We're here." Donnie's announcement brought Mikey out of his thoughts.

"Finally." Mikey sighed.

"My sons, you have finally returned." Master Splinter was waiting for them as he always did. Both turtles suddenly felt guilty because they had forgotten to contact their sensei about the success of their original mission.

"How is Leonardo and where is Raphael?" The concern in his voice was obvious as he walked with his sons into Donnie's lab.

"Long story Sensei, Don will hafta fill ya in." Mikey said as he turned to leave.

"Michelangelo?!" Splinter called, confused by his sons hasty departure.

"Mikey wait!"

"Sorry to ditch an run Sensei but I hafta go." Mikey turned from his master and father before he lost his resolve. "And Don, you know I don't have time for ya to patch me up right now. I'm not bleeding any more so I can wait till I get back and-"

"That's not what I was going to say Mikey." Donnie interrupted. "Oh"

"I was going to suggest you pick up your spare weapons." Donnie said gesturing to Mikey's empty belt.

"Heh, I knew that." Mikey replied sheepishly before he left the room.

"Hey Mikey?" Donnie called. Mikey poked his head back in, "Good luck!"

Mikey's face and voice took on a serious quality, "Don't worry, I'll bring him 'im home."

As Mikey left the lair, his weapons sitting comfortably in their place, he could hear Donnie start the story of one of the longest nights of their lives, all the while trying to fix the damage done to their oldest brother.

IIIIIIIIII

Michelangelo was running as fast as the twist and turns of the sewers would allow. He made it back to the tunnel and since it was mostly a straight shot, he really laid on the speed. He ignored his fatigue and the pain as he ran and even with those handicaps he made record time in getting back to April's building. He went straight for the room where they left Raph. All he wanted was to get everyone home safe and sound. It had been one extremely long night, or was it day now?

Mikey stopped in shock at the threshold. The room was empty, Raphael was nowhere in sight. He scanned the room and spotted a familiar shot gun lying on the ground a few feet in front of him. He went over and picked it up and confirmed that it was indeed the tranq gun that Donnie had used against Bishop, or one just like it. Mikey gave a very Raph-like howl of rage as he threw the weapon against the wall. It gave him little pleasure to see it break into several pieces.

He looked up, and growled, "Are you serious? Why can't we just have an easy rescue once in a while? Is it really too much to ask?" Mikey didn't know who he was yelling at, but just venting his frustrations was enough.

Mikey just started to think about his options when he heard a vehicle screech to a stop in the side alley next to the building. He was out of the room in a flash and raced up to the second floor so he could check things out from the fire escape. The fact that the apartment was void of any unconscious bodies barely registered in his mind as he practically flew through the hallway. What he saw when he peeked into the alley below made his blood run cold and boil at the same time.

Bishop was walking towards a parked van with a drugged Raph slung over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. The driver of the van jumped out of the drivers seat, armed with a very big gun, and opened the rear doors as Bishop approached. Mikey knew he had to act quickly, or risk losing Raph. If he lost him now, Mikey didn't know if they could ever track him down.

The odds were against him with one heavily armed and another just as dangerous to fight, with a brother to protect in the process. He had to time his attack just right. He did have the element of surprise on his side, but when? There! Raph twitched and Bishop just set him down on the edge of the van and is reaching into his pocket. When his hand reappeared, a needle was in it.

Mikey had a plan. He waited till Bishop was about to stick his brother with the needle and jumped silently down into the alley, behind the unsuspecting humans. In one motion he kicked the legs out from both men, knocking them on their backs. In the next instant he grabbed both the gun and the needle, while pinning Bishop down with his foot on his neck and pointing the gun at his accomplice.

"If you move, I will shoot you." Mikey said to Bishop's lackey. The man gulped but didn't move a muscle.

"You!" Bishop sputtered, "I will-"

"No Bishop, you won't. Not today, not ever!" Mikey said as he plunged the needle into his chest, dispensing it contents.

"Huh, twice in one night. Too bad no amount of beauty sleep will help your ugly face." Mikey quipped as Bishop succumbed to whatever was in the needle.

Mikey heard the accomplice move and looked up just in time to see him reach behind his back. The man froze when the gun was pointed at his head.

"Take it out slowly pal." Mikey commanded. The man complied, revealing a wicked looking dagger. "Drop it." It hit with a clatter on the ground. "Good," Mikey said, "now _carefully_ set my brother by me and put your boss in the van."

The man nodded and executed the switch under the watchful gaze of the turtle. When he had closed the doors Mikey gave more instructions.

"Okay, here's what yer gonna do. Yer gonna get back in that van and get the hell out of this city and if I ever see you with _him_ again, I won't be so forgiving."

"You're letting me go?" He said in disbelief. "But Bishop said you guys were savage beasts, bent on annihilating the human race!"

Under different circumstances, Mikey would have laughed. "Beats huh?" Mikey threw away the gun and it landed at the mans' feet. "I'm not human and does that automatically makes me a threat? If you truly think it does, then go ahead." Mikey gestured to the gun. "All I want to do is take my brother home." Mikey lifted his brother onto his shoulders and turned his back on the man, heading for the man hole.

"I don't know what you are, but you are not what I've been told." The man said.

Mikey turned back, "I am a turtle who has to struggle to survive in a world that doesn't even know I exist. I fight to protect people that would just as soon as kill me for being different. I am a brother, a son and a friend. I am Michelangelo." Mikey left the man and disappeared into the sewers. As he was replacing the sewer lid, he heard the van leaving the alley and once again the human race surprised him. Some were kind while others were cruel, then there were just plain clueless which could be the most dangerous.

Climbing down a sewer ladder carrying a 180 pound turtle not _not_ easy, Mikey decided, but he managed to get to the bottom with out further injury to himself or his brother. Though, he was panting by the time he got down.

"Ugh" Mikey exclaimed as he shifted Raph's weight on his shoulder, "and you complain that _I_ eat too much junk food!" But the jibe wasn't the same without his brother awake to appreciate it.

After only five minutes of walking, the strain of carrying his brother and his own injuries caught up with him and he stumbled. He tried to catch himself but he couldn't and he fell to his knees, practically dropping Raph in the process.

"Ooo kay, I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was." Mikey mumbled as he crawled over to where his brother lay and sat down. "How the shell am I gonna get ya home by myself?"

Instead of panicking like he normally would, Mikey closed his eyes and counted to 10, slowly. This helped him to clear his head and think, but when he opened his eyes he was no closer to a solution. He narrowed his eyes in frustration.

"The way I see it," he said out loud, "I can't carry you by myself and there is no one around to help so that leaves only one option." Mikey now spoke directly to his prone brother,

"Nap times over bro. Man I hope this works as well in real life as it does in the movies." Mikey knew that being gentle wouldn't be effective, so he went straight for a slap to the face. The slap echoed off the sewer walls and sounded worse than it actually was, but Mikey was rewarded with a grunt. A small smile appeared on Mikey's face. He delivered another, slightly harder slap and Raph's eyes fluttered for a moment before snapping wide open and looking around almost frantically.

"Hey bro, it's ok." Mikey comforted, placing a hand on Raph's shoulder.

"Bishop?" Raph questioned as he sat up.

"Not here." Mikey answered. Raph looked at his brother with a curious look at his short and cryptic reply.

Raph decided to let it go for now, "Bastard caught me by surprise an' drugged me."

"Yeah I had ta slap ya around a little ta wake you up." Mikey chuckled.

"Tha's why my face stings." Raph said, rubbing his cheek.

"Sorry bro, but I couldn't carry your heavy shell anymore." Mikey lightly teased.

Raph was ready to give a retort until he saw how exhausted his brother looked.

"Give me a hand up an' lets go home." Raph said instead.

Mikey stood up and offered Raph his hand and with a little more effort than it would normally take, both turtles were on their feet. Without hesitation, Mikey took Raph's' arm and slung it around his shoulders and placed his other arm around his shell. He couldn't help the small hiss that escaped as the action stretched the scab on his shoulder. The mere fact that Raph didn't protest the additional assistance told just how injured he was too.

On the trek back to the lair the two didn't talk much, saving their energy to stay on their feet and with every step they came closer to home and the rest of their family. It was all over and now all they had to do was heal. It might take a while and longer for some than for others, but they'll make it.

No sooner had they walked over the threshold into the lair, then Donnie was right there waiting along with Splinter.

"Ah, my sons, you have made it home. Retrieving your brother took longer than I expected Michelangelo." Splinter's voice suggested he knew what kept them but he would wait for his sons explanation.

"We hit a little snag." Mikey said.

"How's Leo?" Both Raph and Mikey asked at the same time.

"He's stable and resting." Donnie answered as he relieved Mikey of Raph and helped the red banded turtle to the couch. Raph nodded but Mikey didn't seem to hear. His face held a blank expression.

"Mikey are you ok?" Donnie asked as he started towards him.

"No….I….I-I don' feel so hot…kinda dizzy…" Mikey's face went frighteningly pale and his eyes rolled up into his head as he started to fall backwards.

Splinter reached his son just in time to prevent him from hitting his head on the hard cement floor.

"Michelangelo? My son, can you hear me?" Thee was no response from the orange banded turtle.

Donnie rushed over and quickly checked his brothers vitals.

"Don, what happened?" Raph asked as he hobbled his way over. "He collapsed." Donnie automatically answered.

"No shit Sherlock! I meant _why_ did he collapse?" Raph was very worried and he didn't care if the others noticed.

"He's extremely fatigued. This whole ordeal has worn him out. To be honest I don't know how he lasted this long." Donnie said.

"Whaddya mean?" Raph asked.

"Well, with the amount of blood he's lost with his numerous wounds and the stress put on his body was just too great, and I suspect," Donnie glanced up at Splinter for confirmation, the old rat nodded, "that his mind and spirit took a beating as well."

"Michelangelo has suffered more than physical wounds tonight. What he needs now is rest, as do the rest of you." The silent order wasn't missed by the two turtles.

"Hai Sensei" Raph and Don answered. "Just as soon as I clean and bandage their wounds." Donnie added.

"As long as you do not neglect your own Donatello." Splinter conceded.

"Hai Sensei."

When Splinter went to check on his sons a couple hours later, they all occupied beds in the infirmary and all were fast asleep. Splinter sighed as he gazed upon his precious family. Whenever one was severely injured they all opted to sleep together as they did in their early days. It gave them comfort to be close to one another in times of healing and Splinter never discouraged it.

They were all together once more, maybe a little broken at the moment but being together meant their healing could begin. The last couple weeks when Leonardo was missing was one of the most trying times his family has been through. The fear and anxiety for their missing brother and son left them confused and incomplete but Splinter suspected that the coming weeks would be just as difficult, only in different ways.

**A/N: Let me know what ya think! BTY, I'm aiming for two, maybe three more chapters in this fic.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. I'm excited because I used the new Dragon Speak program which turns spoken words into type. So if there are any grammatical errors, please forgive me. Hopefully this program will allow me to get more chapters out faster and eventually new stories. Enjoy!**

Chapter 19

Its been an hour since his father left him to rest but sleep eluded Donatello. Too many thoughts and emotions ran through his mind. They were relentless and would not cease their assault, so he finally gave up. Donnie sat up, wincing at the pull of his injuries and sore muscles the movement caused. He looked at his brothers' sleeping forms and was reminded that he was by far the least injured and he felt a little guilty. He would gladly take all their injuries and pain and make them his own, but even if it was possible, Donnie knew they would never allow it. This was just something they all went through when one of them was injured. It came with the territory of their lifestyle. They have all suffered major injuries before, broken bones, blood loss, concussions and even comas, but this time was different. Before, they have always fully recovered given enough time, but that's not the case this time.

With nothing else to occupy his time, Donnie decided to check on his youngest brother. He looked at Michelangelo's bruised and swollen face and tried to remember when he had been more proud of him. He may be the resident goofball, but he can get things done when he needs to. His shoulder was his worst injury but with some physical therapy and time it will be as good as new and able to swing his nunchaku just as fast as before.

Done with Mikey, Donnie moved on to Raph. It would be a while before he could twirl his sai with his right hand. Almost every bone in it was broken but it would heal along with his knee which, thankfully, only suffered a small tear in the tendon and a dislocated knee cap. Though Raph won't be too happy when he finds out how long he has to stay off of it.

Donnie crossed the room and stood by his oldest brothers bed, watching his chest rise and fall. What little hope he held of Leonardo regaining full use of his legs was sorely for his brothers benefit. In truth, he knew that the likelihood of Leo walking again was very low but he was going to keep those odds to himself. Leo would ignore them anyway and he will discover the truth eventually. It would be devastating for him when he found out that he would never be able wield his katana again.

Once he was sure his brothers were resting comfortably he went over to his computer and sat down. He logged onto the internet and typed 'Spinal Chord Injuries' into the search engine.

IIIIIIIIII

Raph hated beds. That's why he had a hammock in his room, but he would rather stay close to his brothers for the time being. So he tried to sleep. He might have dozed off from pure exhaustion but the familiar sound of tip tapping on the computer woke him up.

"Yo, Don" Raph whispered so he wouldn't disturb his sleeping brothers.

Donnie wheeled around at the sound of his brothers voice, "Raph! What are you doing up? You should be resting." He admonished as he went over and started checking him over.

Raph used his good hand and swatted Donnie's away when it landed on his forehead, checking for a fever.

"I'm fine Don!"

"Then you should be sleeping." Don replied as he turned back to his computer.

"So should you." Raph retorted.

Donnie ignored Raph as he sighed and sank back down into his chair. Raph didn't really feel like getting into a fight right now so he changed the subject,

"Whatchya lookin' at?"

"I'm researching spinal chord injuries." Donnie said after a slight hesitation.

"Oh. Find anythin' ?"

Even though he tried to sound casual, Donnie heard the hope in Raph's voice. He hated disappointing his brothers.

"No."

"Don' worry, ya will." Raph replied in all confidence.

Donnie let out a humorless chuckle, "Yeah, maybe in 50 to 100 years Raph, but right now the technology just doesn't exist." Don glared at the computer as if it was purposely with holding the information he was looking for.

"So there's nothing we can do?"

"So he can walk again? No. There isn't." Donnie felt all the anger drain away, leaving him feeling helpless.

Raph, on the other hand, felt his anger start to kindle. "Dammit!" He growled as he hit his bed with both fists and gasping as his injured hand exploded in pain.

Donnie jumped out of his chair and took Raph's hand, examining it for new damage, purposely not commenting on his outburst. Raph was grateful for his brothers silence, he felt foolish enough.

"No harm done." Donnie reported when he finished his exam. Raph just nodded.

The silence that followed was comfortable, each turtle just content to be in each others company, with neither wanting to spoil the serenity with nay-saying and grim thoughts. Don went back to his computer, but switched the search to one of his current projects while Raph tried to keep hi self entertained with visions of him beating the crap out of Bishop. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he, at first, didn't notice the change in Donnie's behavior. When Raph did take notice, Donnie was typing frantically while images of the sewers were flashing on the screen.

"What now?" Raph growled in irritation. Seriously, can't they just be left alone already?

"One of the silent perimeter alarms was triggered. I'm bringing it up now."

The camera Donnie was looking through was one of the common tunnels they use when coming from the surface to the lair. Raph hobbled over and leaned over his brothers shoulder for a better look.

"I don' see-"

"Wait!" With a few typed commands, Donnie rewound the footage and played it again.

"There!"

He pointed to the screen where they spied shadowed figures pass by the camera.

"Who is it?" Raph demanded.

"I don't know. There aren't any lights in those tunnels, but the trip lasers registered 3 people passing through them." Donnie replied as he looked at his computer, which was linked to the security grid

Donatello got up and grabbed his bo.

"Whaddya think yer doin' ?" Raph questioned.

Donnie sighed, "Raph, I'm the only one who is able to take care of this and they have to be stopped before they get too close to the layer. I can handle this, really."

Raph looked ready to argue, but then he relates the truth in his brother's words.

"I know you can Don, just watch yer shell."

With a nod he left his brothers to intercept the intruders. As he left, he programmed the door to open only with his code, just to be safe. He waited only long enough to make sure the door closed, looking just like another sewer wall.

Donatello's plan was simple, sneak around and attack the intruders from behind. There were only three of them, a piece of cake even though he was injured. In no time he had spotted his first target. It was dark, but Donnie could make out the intruders. They weren't trying to hide themselves or quiet their footsteps so they couldn't be Foot. At that, Donnie mentally sighed with relief. Maybe they were city workers? It doesn't matter, to be on the safe side, he had to get them out of the sewers. He made it to a distance where he could strike out at the person in the rear, when their infamous turtle-luck struck once again when one of the others noticed him. Donnie didn't stop in his attack, hoping to knock this one out quickly so he could move on to the others. He swung his bo, aiming at the guy's head, buy his weapon never connected. A bat had blocked it.

"Casey?" Donatello was shocked to find April and Casey, plus someone he didn't recognize. "What are you doing bringing," Donnie looked at the stranger, and then in his mid-to-late 40s, "him down here?"

Casey opened his mouth to answer but was cut off when April brushed past him and engulfed Donnie in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay! How are the others?"

Donnie was still eyeing the stranger warily. who didn't seem too surprised at his appearance.

"They're all stable." Donnie was being cryptic, on purpose. Until he got some answers he wasn't going to say much in front of a total stranger.

"April, what's going on? Who is he?"

Again all his attention was on this one person. When April floundered, the stranger took the initiative and stepped forward, offering his hand, "My name is Jax Benden, and it's nice to see you again Donatello."

IIIIIIIIII

If what Jax had told him was true, then perhaps their luck was finally going to change. With a little cajoling from April in Casey, Donatello conceded to bring Jax back to the layer, blindfolded of course. Donnie took a roundabout way to the lair but kept it a short detour. Time was of the essence in this situation. When the door to the lair opened, Donatello wasn't surprised to see Splinter standing right there waiting. Donnie was glad for his father's presence even though he was nervous at his reaction for bringing a stranger into their home.

A smile adorned Splinter's face as he saw their two human friends.

"April, Casey, I'm very pleased to see you unharmed." Then he saw the third human, and his smile turned into a frown and his gaze turned to steel which he turned on his purple-banded son.

"Donatello, explain!" He demanded.

"Hai Sensei!" Donnie bowed as he answered. "My sensors alerted me to intruders in the sewers so I went to investigate. Turns out it was only April, Casey…and, um, Jax." Donnie faltered nervously as he introduced Jax.

"I see." Splinter said, tail twitching.

Donatello knew his explanation was incomplete, but he didn't have all the facts himself.

"Sensei, I'm sorry I broke your highest rule, but given the circumstances I would do it again and if you listen to what Jax has to say, I'm sure you will agree with my decision."

It was the closest Donnie has ever gotten to disobeying and talking back to his father, he even seemed slightly shocked by his own words

.

"Please Splinter, it could be vital." April stated almost pleadingly.

Splinter stood still, not moving or speaking. He could tell it meant a great deal to all of them, even the stranger seemed eager to speak.

"Very well," Splinter said, "welcome to our home." He invited the man, Jax, to come and sit. April and Casey followed him, while Donnie went to the lab to check on his brothers.

"What's goin' on out there?" Raph asked when Donnie walked in.

"Turns out the intruders were only April and Casey." Donnie cryptically replied, but Raph was smarter than that.

"So who was the third?"

Donnie sighed as he started to putz around his lab.

"His name is Jax Benden. They brought him into the sewers, and I brought him here. Right now he's talking with Master Splinter."

Donnie spoke in a rush and tensed, knowing what was coming.

"YOU WHAT?"

Donnie cringed at the volume has red mask brother used and spent the next 3 minutes listening to him rant and rave about 'secrecy' and 'exposure', sounding a lot like Leo.

Finally, the lecture stopped, "Are you finished?" Donnie asked. Raph opens his mouth to say something but someone cut him off,

"Yeah dude, 'cause I wanna to know why Mr. never-breaks-the-rules here, broke Sensei's highest cardinal rule."

"Mikey!" Raph and Donnie exclaimed in unison.

Donnie rushed over and helped his little brother into a sitting position. The motion caused a twinge of pain in Mikey's shoulder and he winced.

"How do you feel Mikey?" Donnie asked as he gave the bandages a quick once over, looking for any signs of fresh bleeding.

"Fine, just a little achy…and a tired." Mikey the glared at Raph as he spoke the last two words.

Rat had the decency to look ashamed, "Eh, sorry bro, the Brainiac here -"

"Yeah I heard. So Donnie, why'd you do it?" Mikey asked as he looked at his immediate older brother.

Donnie couldn't help but smirk at the curious and expectant faces of his brothers, but then he turned serious.

"He might be able to help Leo."

IIIIIIIIII

In a matter of minutes the three brothers were on their way to the main section of the lair. Raph grudgingly accepted Donnie and Mikey's support after a failed a solo attempt. At that moment, a possible cure for Leo was more important than his pride. When they finally made it to where the others were seated, coffee and tea had already been served and remaining on the tray was a coffee for Don, a Coke for Raph and a hot chocolate for Mikey. All three looked to their Sensei when they noticed the extra drinks.

"My sons, how are you feeling?"

"Good Sensei." "Fine Sensei." Raph and Mikey chorused at the same time.

Splinter gave a nod of acknowledgment and took a sip of his tea.

"Then I believe we are ready to hear your story Mr. Benden."

All eyes turned to the man who seemed unperturbed that he was speaking to a giant rats and three giant turtles. He took a deep breath and let it out before he began,

"My past is something that I had hoped to forget, but I guess it's unavoidable now. I don't know how to begin so I'll just be blunt. I'm not from Earth." He paused a moment to let that information sink in. From the surprised looks on their faces, he knew had their undivided attention.

"Once, I was a soldier in the Federation Army. I believe you've had dealings with them before." When he received an affirmative he continued.

"While I was a soldier I carried out orders that were unjust and down-right cruel. After a particularly bloody occupation I had had enough. I fled the Federation and settled here ,where no one would think to look for me because of Earth's comparatively primitive technology. This was almost 40 years ago. I have lived the majority of my life on this planet, and I consider it my home. I met and married a woman, Laura, rest her soul and she blessed me with four fine children. With my past behind me, I had made a new and wonderful life for myself. Then, it all shattered when, a couple years ago, the Triceratons invaded."

Jax scowled at the unpleasant memory.

"I couldn't let them destroy my new life, so I helped as best I could. I had smuggled some Federation weapons to earth when I came here and I used them during the invasion. Eventually I was overwhelmed and they captured me and took me with the others to Central Park. They knew I was Federation and were about to take me before their Prime Leader, who probably would have killed me if it were not for Donatello."

Jax looked at the purple-masked turtle, "You saved me that day and I never got to thank you. I am in your debt."

Donnie's eyes widened in realization, "You were that man on the ship!"

"Yes I was and even though I didn't know who you were or where you had come from, I felt responsible when you were taken instead of me. So when the other prisoners started a revolt, I gladly joined and helped coordinated the attack."

"It wasn't your fault." Donnie protested.

"Well that's neither here nor there. The real meat of the matter is that when April and Casey came to rent the truck last night I recognized them from that day and I knew that they were linked with you somehow. So when they came to return the truck I simply asked them how their turtle friends were doing. I never knew if you made it out, and it's been eating me up inside all this time. Of course they got…defensive when I asked and denied any knowledge of you, so I told them about Donatello saving me and who I was. Even then, they denied knowing you guys. As they were leaving I told them to come back if they ever needed anything, and I guess that's all April needed to hear. She filled me in on your current situation, and I wanted to offer my help."

"Nice story, but how's that, or you, gonna to help Leo?" Raph growled.

Jax smiled and brushed Raph's gruffness aside, "I used to be a medic, and I have Federation medical technology at my disposal. I believe I can help Leo walk again."

**A/N: So how was it? I'm thinking maybe 1 or 2 chapters left**. **Until next time, see ya!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Here's another update for ya! Wow my last update was in August. Only 3 months, I think that's a new record for me!**

Chapter 20

"My decision is final!" Splinter declared in a voice that brokered no argument from his two reluctant sons.

The short but intense conversation was declared over when Splinter rose without another word and headed towards the lab to sit with Leonardo. Donatello chanced a glance at his brothers and the sight made him chuckle. Both were slouching on the couch, arms crossed over their chests with angry, narrowed eyes bordering on defiance. At the sound those angry eyes turned to him, the reason behind their anger. Donatello didn't flinch under their harsh gazes and saw the underlying concerns hidden behind blue and brown eyes. Despite those observations, Donatello couldn't help but feel a little slighted and narrowed his eyes slightly in return with irritation,

"I can handle it guys."

Raph sighed and rubbed his face, "We know you can Don, it's just that," Raph paused,and growled when he couldn't find the right words.

"I think what Raph is trying to say is that we're finally all together again." Raphael's silence confirmed what Michelangelo just said.

"Yeah I know, but-"

"But it has ta be done fer Leo's sake." Raph added with a smirk. Then in the smirk fell, "Doesn't mean we have ta like the fact yer doin' it alone."

"I won't be alone." Donatello reminded them.

Raph huffed, "Right. Yer gonna to be with a guy we jus' met and know almost nothing' about!"

"Or if he's telling' us the truth." Michelangelo added.

"That too." Raph agreed.

"Do you think that I would do it, or that Master Splinter would for that matter, give the okay if the risk wasn't worth it?" Donatello pointed out.

"I still don' like the idea of you goin' with 'im alone." Raph said, coming very close to pouting.

"You guys know that in your conditions you'd only to be a liability in a fight." Donnie said uncomfortably.

"That's low, Donnie!" Mikey said.

"I don't mean to be cruel, Mikey, but you're still barely able to keep your eyes open and Raph can hardly stand on his own." Donnie sighed, "Look, the sooner I leave the sooner I'll get back just… try to rest."

Donatello rose and walked to the kitchen where the three humans had retreated while the family discussion was taking place.

"Ha! Rest he says. Does he honestly believe we'd be able to rest when he's out gallivanting around?" Mikey said dramatically.

Raphael looked at his baby brother and quirked an eyebrow, "Gallivanting?"

"What! I've been out of practice. It's gonna to take me awhile to get back in the groove. What about you Raphie? You ready to go back to your old grouchy, brooding self?"

Raph's hand shot out and made contact with the back of his brothers head, "OW!" Mikey whined as he rubbed the sore spot, "That answer yer question?"

Mikey smiled, but it didn't quite reach its usual size and Raph took notice, "What's up Mike? What's wrong?"

The smile immediately deflated and disappeared. "Nothing's wrong." Mikey replied a little too quickly.

"Don't give me that crap!" Raph snapped, "A lot's happened tonight, and most of it happened to you! So don't tell me nothin's wrong!" Raph could see the battle going on in his little brother's eyes, "Why won't you talk to me?"

Mikey dropped his head into his hands and Raph thought that he had won, but Mikey's hands then curled into fists and slammed down on the coffee table. Mikey's voice came out sounding small and strained,

" 'Cause if I admit it to you then I have to admit it to myself and right now, being in denial is keeping me sane, so no offense Raph, but LAY OFF!" As he yelled the last two words, Mikey jumped up and ran upstairs slamming his bedroom door behind him.

Raph struggled to follow, "Mikey wait! I didn't - aw shell." In his haste to get up, Raph banged his knee on the coffee table and nearly collapsed but strong hands caught him and set him back on the couch.

"Just let him be Raph." Came Donnie's voice through the fog of pain.

"Ya know what happened, don' ya?" Raph asked through clenched teeth.

Donnie hesitated, "Don" Raph growled in warning. He was so not in the mood for Don's beating around the bush approach.

Donnie sighed in defeat. There was just no arguing with Raph when he used that tone.

"When I got there, what looked like to be the entire Clan surrounded Mikey and Karai. They were fighting…with katana…in a duel, the kind were only one walks away."

They've all killed before. It's unavoidable when you live the kind of life they did, but they have never entered a fight intending to kill. It goes against everything they've been taught and who they are.

"He killed her." Raph stated.

"We didn't stick around long enough to find out, but there was a lot of blood."

IIIIIIIIII

After slamming his door, Michelangelo leaned against it and slammed the wall with the side of his fist in frustration, wincing as the impact jarred his injured shoulder. The rage seemed to melt from his mind with the violent act and he sunk to the floor and held his head in his hands, where he let his relief, fear and fatigue escape through a few silent tears. What he really needed right now was the comforting presence of his oldest brother. Even when he was sleeping Leonardo had this way of emitting what Mikey called, 'feel good vibrations' that always worked to calm the orange masked turtle.

Besides, now was not the time to be arguing with each other. So Mikey took a deep steadying breath, stood up and opened the door. Once at the top of the stairs, he noticed that Donnie and the others were gone and Raph was using the back of the couch to hold himself up. Mikey smirked and shook his head as he descended the stairs. Some things never change, like his red-banded brother moving around when he shouldn't be and when it clearly caused him a lot of pain. But when was the last time Raph let a little thing like pain stop him? So without hesitation and Mikey went over and draped one of Raph's arms over his shoulders and wrapped an arm around his waist. Raph opens his mouth to protest and Mikey simply raises an eyebrow. Raph sighed in resignation, he knew he wouldn't win plus he could use this as a sort of apology to his brother.

Mikey smiled when he knew he had won, "So, where to gov'na?" Mikey asked in a thick English accent. Raph chuckled, thinking the same thing his brother did a few moments ago, some things never change.

"I was goin' ta sit with Leo. Don' want 'im to wake up with no one there."

"Righty o!" Mikey dropped the accent, "I was headin' there myself. Just wanted to be with him, you know?"

"Yeah Mikey I know." Raph said, fully understanding what his little brother meant.

Leonardo hadn't moved an inch, just as still and quiet as when they left him an hour ago. Splinter must have left, for he was nowhere in sight. Mikey helped Raph to his bed, then went back to his own and practically collapsed on it. He was way beyond tired but he didn't want to sleep till he knew Leo was okay. Why wasn't he waking up? They've been home for… Mikey glanced at the clock and his eyes widened with shock, it was almost 6 PM. That means 12 hours have passed since they made it home. Raph notices his brothers actions and smirked,

"You had me an' Don really worried. You were dead to the world after you collapsed, more than usual that is."

"Sorry" was all Mikey said, proving how tired he still was. Raph waved off the apology as he fiddled with a bandage.

"How's Leo, really?"

Raph sighed, "Much the same. Don gave 'im a mild sedative, to keep 'im from movin' too much mostly, but he should be wakin' up soon."

It wasn't until about 20 minutes later that Leo started to stir. It started with a soft whimper and quickly escalated to clenched fists and rapid breathing. Mikey and Raph watched with growing concern.

"Dude, I think he's havin' a nightmare." Mikey said as he rushed to his troubled brothers side.

Raph made it over a bit more slowly, "We need ta snap 'im out of it, he could hurt 'imself worse."

Michelangelo hesitated. Normally he would gently shake a shoulder or tap the face, but every inch of Leo was covered in cuts, bruises or burns and he didn't want to cause him any more pain. After a heart beats indecision Mikey grabbed Leo's hand in both of his,

"Leo, come on bro, it's just a dream." Mikey coaxed.

Leo didn't respond to his brothers voice. He flinched from some unknown occurrence, and gasped and squeezed his eyes tightly closed. Gentle coaxing wasn't going to work. Mikey carefully cupped his brothers cheek with one hand, keeping a firm grip with the other on his brothers hand.

"Leonardo!"

It was the same tone of voice Splinter often used to command attention, not out of anger but with respectful authority. The result was instant. Leo quieted and with a couple words of encouragement from Mikey, his eyes opened. Leo blinked several times to clear his blurry vision. The lighting was dim and all he could see was Mikey. For a moment he thought he was back at Foot headquarters and that they had captured Mikey too! His eyes opened wide with fear,

"No…!"

Mikey saw the fear in his brothers eyes and immediately understood, "No bro, it's all right, where home."

Leonardo took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, letting the notion of being home sink in. Finally he took in the familiar sights, sounds and smells of home.

"Are you okay?" His voice came out as a whisper, but it sounded concerned and not fearful.

Leo heard a familiar deep chuckle from his right, "He's back." Raph said good naturedly.

Leo rolled his eyes in good humor and Mikey smiled. The tender moment faded slightly when Leo fixed Mikey with his 'I'm-serious-tell-me-the-truth' look. It was Mikey's turn to roll his eyes,

"Just some bruising and cuts, some deeper than others," his free hand went to his bandaged shoulder, "and I could sleep for like, a month but otherwise I'll be fine."

Leo didn't miss the future tense of his brothers statement, but now was not the time.

"And Raph?"

"I'm good Fearless, nothin' that won't heal."

"Ha!" Mikey guffawed, "If you can manage to sit on your shell long enough to heal, that is!"

"Ah, Leonardo, you are awake." The sound of their father's voice stopped the bickering and brought a smile to Leo's face. "I thought you would appreciate some water."

Splinter walked over and handed Michelangelo class with a straw. Mikey held the glass so Leo could drink, "Slow, small sips my son." Splinter reminded and Leo obeyed.

As he was drinking he realized something and he hated himself for not realizing it before,

"Where's Donnie?"

Mikey glanced to Raph, who avoided his gaze, _'Coward'_ he thought, '_Who'm I kiddin' , I don't wanna tell 'im either.' _Raph turned pleading eyes to Splinter who found amusement in his sons' hesitancy,

"Donatello is fine my son, he sustained only minor injuries. He is currently on the surface, as for why I'll leave that for your brothers to explain. So much worry has made this old rat very tired. I am glad to have you home Leonardo."

"Thank you father, it's good to be home."

With a smile of reassurance Splinter left the room.

"Well?" Leo prompted.

Mikey was nervous, he didn't know where to start, "So Leo, you need anything? More water? Painkillers? Maybe some-"

"Mikey!" Leo said warningly.

"What? Why are you looking at _me _like that?"

"Because I can't move to glare at Raph." Leo sniped. "Now someone please tell me what the shell is going on!" Leo cussing meant that Leo was starting to get mad, so Raph and Mikey took turns telling him what had happened since they got back to the lair.

IIIIIIIIII

"And he went _alone_?" Leo was not happy when he learned of what's been going on while he was incapacitated.

"It's not like any of us were in any shape to tag along." Mikey replied, sounding a little bitter.

" 'Sides, Leo, Donnie's a big turtle, he can take care of 'imself."

Leo sighed, "I know, I'm just frustrated."

"We all are Leo."

Raph had moved to sit beside Mikey during their narration and Leo could now see the tiredness in his face.

"Yeah, it's going to take us a long while to recover from this one." Mikey added.

"What happened Mikey?" He asked in his talk-about-it-and-you'll-feel-better tone. "I'm here."

Mikey was getting real tired real fast of being asked that, but instead of blowing up like he did with Raph, he just smiled and shook his head.

"I know, and I-I will, I just…" Mikey took a deep breath, fumbling for words. That in itself was very un-Mikey-ish.

"So much has happened in the last 24 hours, and I haven't really caught up with it yet." When Mikey didn't continue, everyone got the hint that he wasn't going to say anymore on the subject at this point in time.

Leo completely understood what is youngest brother was talking about and he knew that Michelangelo will eventually tell them what happened. Perhaps when everyone is together so he only has to tell it once.

IIIIIIIIII

"Wow!" Donatello exclaimed, "How did you manage to smuggle this much tech out of the Federation?" He asked, awestruck at what he saw inside the storage unit Jax had taken him to.

"It was all in the ship I used." Jack replied, shrugging his shoulders in dismissal of the implied difficult of such a feat.

Donnie nodded. Jax had explained on their way here that he had arranged for his escape to look like he had been shot up during a medical run to one of their colonies near the Triceraton border. After he got to Earth he put the ship on autopilot to head back to Federation space, forged the travel logs and programmed it to self-destruct. A brilliant plan Donatello concluded. No one would give a second thought about losing one man in such a way. Stuff like that happen all the time in wars.

While Jax was gathering the other stuff he needed, Donnie was looking around.

Okay, he was snooping.

Just because this guy comes around claiming he could heal Leo doesn't mean he totally bought the story. The point of Donatello accompanying Jax was partially to check out his story. The technology he was looking at was definitely not from Earth, so that part of his story seemed to check out. Besides, Donnie didn't see the usual signals of a trap or that this guy was being anything but sincere. In other words, his 'turtle-sense' wasn't tingling.

"Is everything to your satisfaction?" Jack asked.

Donatello was surprised at the question. The man definitely has some high-level training if he could tell that Donnie was questioning him.

"Yes. I hope you understand the necessity." Donnie replied, feeling slightly guilty for not being completely honest.

"I do. The safety of your family as a top priority."

"Yeah, my family is the one normal thing about my life, they keep me sane."

Donatello sounded strangely detached, so Jax went up and put a comforting hand on the turtles shoulder,

"Your family has been through a lot and you boys have done so much at such a young age. This planet could surely use more folks like you."

Donatello gave a small smile, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Jack replied. "Now let's go see if he can get your brother walking again."

**A/N: Ok, I'm thinking one more chapter and the epilogue is left, but don't worry I have a little more action planned ;) Let me know what you think**!


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hear is a nice, long chapter for y'all! Sorry it's so late ^_^**

Chapter 21

With nothing better to do, and because their bodies really needed it, the brothers fell back asleep, however, their rest was anything but peaceful. Leonardo woke up with a start, gasping for air and a thin sheen of sweat on his skin. He tried to sit up and panic briefly overcame him when he met only pain. In that terrifying moment he thought his rescue was only a dream and he was still at Bishop and Karai's mercy.

"You having nightmares again, huh?"

His brothers voice had an instant calming affect. Leonardo relaxed back onto his plastron and exhaled a deep breath. A quick look around the room told him Raphael was gone, probably the bathroom or the kitchen and Donatello was still not back yet so they hadn't been asleep for too long.

"Yeah." Leonardo pulled his hands under his chin an looked at Michelangelo, "Woke up and thought I was still there. I couldn't…"

"Sorry we couldn't get to ya sooner bro."

The guilt in his voice snapped Leonardo out of his dispirited funk.

"It's _not _your fault Mikey!"

"But it's _not _yours either Leo! Don't even think about going down that road again."

"No worries Mike. I don't have the energy right now." Leonardo continued before he lost his nerve,

"You came just in time for me bro. I don't even want to think what Bishop had planned for me next." Leonardo suppressed the shudder that statement provoked.

"That dude scares me outta my shell." Mikey said seriously, then started chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Leonardo asked.

"Nothing. It's just that we have the weirdest luck sometimes. I honestly don't know how we all made it home alive."

"Why? What happened?"

"That's right, you were pretty out of it for the most part." Michelangelo took a deep breath.

"Let's see, you survived torture from a revenge driven Ninja psychopath, a partial dissection from Bishop, stopped breathing, fended of Foot Ninja while stuck in a bed, and had a chest tube put in by a turtle with no medical training."

"But…"

"But nothing. It's Donnie's turn. He got me out of a Foot infested warehouse without a scratch on him, dodged a dozen bullets in a confined space escaping with only a graze and managed to keep you stable with knowledge he learned online."

"Bullets!"

"I'm not done yet. Raph survived a brutal Foot beating, kept you and himself hidden from Bishops goons and escaped an attempted turtle-napping by Bishop. All this happened in one night Leo. Don't tell me that wasn't weird luck!"

Leonardo just stared at his youngest brother for a moment. They sure went through a lot for him. Then he realized something.

"The only thing I find weird Mikey is that you left yourself out of your story."

Michelangelo usually boasted about his feats in their adventures, with some not so subtle embellishing. So it really was unusual that he would omit his part in this one.

Michelangelo took on a totally uncharacteristic expression of uncertainty.

"What happened with you Mikey?"

"Nothing compared to what you went through." Michelangelo answered quickly and looked anywhere but at his brother.

"Is that why you won't talk to me? Because you think your experiences will undermine mine? That's-"

"That's bullshit!" Raphael finished from the doorway.

He hobbled in with the aid of a crutch, probably the reason why he left in the first place, and took a seat next to his brothers.

"Now spill Mikey. I don't know everythin' that happened but I will tell what I know if you don't." It was an empty threat, if you could even call it a threat but it appeared to work.

"Fine." Michelangelo stared at a fixed point on the ceiling and spoke in a detached voice. "Mine was the weirdest luck of all. I entered and left Foot Headquarters unharmed, not only did I survive a duel with Karai but I actually won. Then, I escaped being shot in the head by Bishop _twice_ with both hands tied behind my shell, literally. I also prevented him from taking Raph and talked one of his men out of taking me on and even though I was beyond exhausted at this point, I still managed to carry Raph's heavy shell home." Michelangelo told of his exploits without his usual embellishments.

His brothers were dumbfounded and had matching jaw dropping looks on their faces.

"Damn Mikey. Don told me 'bout Karai but I knew nothing' 'bout the rest."

"You have accomplished a lot in one night Mikey. I'm sure I speak for all of us, including Sensei, when I say how proud we are of you Mikey."

Michelangelo's gaze never left the spot on the ceiling throughout his brothers praises. He just didn't feel like he deserved it for some reason.

"Indeed." Splinter said from the doorway.

He held up a paw to forestall anyone from getting up and locked eyes with Michelangelo,

"You showed great skill and quick thinking, not to mention incredible courage. I am very proud of you my son."

"Thank you Sensei," Michelangelo said as he bowed to his father, "but I don't deserve your praise. I wasn't what you said, I wasn't courageous at all. I was scared outta my shell and I had no idea what I was doing." Tears leaked from Michelangelo's eyes as he confessed his feelings.

"Michelangelo, courage is not the lack of fear, but rather acting _despite_ your fear."

All the tension and worry melted from Michelangelo's body.

"Really?"

"Really my son. You have done me and my teachings proud this night."

Michelangelo embraced his father with an enthusiasm he hadn't shown in years. Splinter couldn't help but smile as he returned the embrace.

"As have the rest of you." Splinter added to Raphael and Leonardo, as Michelangelo stepped back.

"However, the hard choices are not done being made. Leonardo, Donatello has returned with Mr. Benden. He wishes to introduce you and to discuss your options regarding your medical treatment. Shall I show them in?"

Leonardo visibly gulped, showing his nervousness.

"Yes, please Sensei."

IIIIIIIIII

The entire family, including April and Casey, listened once more to the story Jaxom Benden had recited earlier, for Leonardo's benefit. After the tale was finished, Leonardo asked the question that had been burning in his mind since he heard about Benden.

"So what is this technology and will it work for me?"

Benden looked to Donatello to explain but the turtle only gave him an encouraging gesture.

"Well, essentially I'm going to take tiny, microscopic robots, or nanites, and insert them near the injury. They will repair the damage by reconstructing the affective cells."

"So basically these robot thingies are gonna rebuild Leo's spine?" Michelangelo asked, surprising almost everyone with his understanding of the function of the nanites.

"Yes, exactly." Benden answered.

"Ha! Leo, dude, you're gonna be like some sorta cyborg now!" Michelangelo teased.

Michelangelo met with confused gazes, a couple snickers and a small smile from Leonardo at his statement.

"Ya know, being part robot?"

"Not quite." Benden quelled Michelangelo's notion, "once the nanites have repaired the damage, they will deactivate and will eventually be flushed out of Leonardo's system naturally."

"Dis all sounds very fascinatin' but will it work?"

Raphael had hit the nail on the head with his question.

Benden sighed, "I can't really _guarantee _anything but based on past experiences, chances are pretty good that partial to full feeling and function will return."

"Where are you going to procure the nanites from? Earth doesn't possess such technology."

"That's the easy part Donatello. Each Federation officer is injected with millions of nanites, kind of like how immunizations are used here on Earth. So nanites I have in plenty."

There were a couple minutes of silence as everyone absorbed all the new information.

"You have given us a great deal of technological information Mr. Benden but what about the medical side effects of such a procedure?" Splinter asked. He didn't want his son to make such an important decision if he wasn't presented with _all _the facts.

Benden nodded to Splinter and directed his answer directly to Leonardo.

"Because the repairs being made to the main artery of the central nervous system, odds are that once the nerves are being rebuilt you could experience brief bouts of intense pain. The nanites may not be able to repair or rebuild every single cell needed. There may be gaps or incomplete connections resulting in permanent nerve damage and chronic pain. You need to think _very_ carefully about this Leonardo."

Leonardo didn't respond but he did nod to show he had heard and understood.

"Leonardo," The blue banded turtle looked to his Sensei and father, "You have heard much and have said very little. Do you need time before you make a decision?"

"No father," Leonardo locked gazes with everyone in the room before landing on Benden,

"Let's do it."

IIIIIIIIII

For the first time since coming home, Michelangelo found himself alone. Donatello, April and Jaxom were prepping for the procedure, Raphael and Casey were hanging out in the dojo, hopefully not making his injuries worse, and Master Splinter was sitting with Leonardo.

Michelangelo was not ready to be alone but he didn't want to intrude on anyone else's 'unwind time' either. It's something they always did after one of their 'escape-by-the-skin-of-their-teeth' battles and everyone did it differently and separately.

He hated it. While his brothers always wanted to be left alone, all he wanted to do was be with his brothers.

To feel less alone, he gravitated towards _his_ typical post battle routine, the TV. It was a poor substitute but it usually served to distract him until his brothers were ready to be social again.

So that's what he's been doing for the past half hour with no success. What he had done was weighing heavy on his mind and he was just robotically flipping the channels and not focusing on what was on. So lost in his own thoughts was he that Michelangelo didn't hear the soft foot steps coming up behind him. When a hand landed on his shoulder, Michelangelo reacted instinctively. He had his weapons out and swinging in a heart beat.

"April! Geeze, give a turtle a heart attack!"

Michelangelo put his unneeded weapons away and sat back down on the couch with April following close behind.

"You must have really been out of it because I called your name twice."

"Yeah, I guess I was."

April looked at the turtle she's come to think of as a brother with growing concern.

"What's wrong Mikey? I've never seen you this upset before. Is this about Leo? He'll be-"

"No it's not that." Mikey cut her off.

"Then what is it? You can talk to me Mikey."

For a few moments Michelangelo just sat there staring at the floor. Then he looked at her,

"Have you ever killed someone April?"

The question caught the woman off guard but she quickly shook off her shock.

"No I haven't. Is that why you're upset? Because you killed Karai?"

"No," Michelangelo's answer surprised her, "not specifically anyway. I've killed before, we all have and I've dealt with those demons long ago. It comes with the life we lead, whether we want to or not, it doesn't matter, it happens anyway."

April was surprised at Michelangelo's confession. She had no idea that any of them had ever killed anyone before but she remained quiet, not wanting to scare Michelangelo into closing up.

"But I have _never_ entered a fight _intending_ to kill, not once., but she forced me to. I hated that feeling, knowing I was going to kill, to take a life. Even if it was Karai's. I wanted to kill her so I could live. I wanted to kill. I never want to feel that way again."

By the end of his confession, Michelangelo had tears streaks running down his cheeks and April got the feeling there was still something he wasn't saying. He wasn't looking at her any more but at the door to Donatello's lab.

"Do you think he'll be disappointed in me?"

"Michelangelo look at me." The orange masked turtle followed her command.

April took his three fingered hand in hers,

"You did what you had to do to protect yourself and your family. What ever you felt, no one will hold it against you. Those feelings don't define who you are Mikey and the fact that you feel guilty for those feelings is testament to who you really are."

"I believe what you're saying April, I do but I can't help but think that I failed them, especially Sensei. It's just gonna take some time for me to sort through this."

"Sort through what?" A gruff voice asked.

Michelangelo turned to see Casey helping Raphael walk towards them. He thought about brushing off his brothers question with a smartass comment but he realized he's been doing that a lot since they got home. Plus there was a serious glint in his brothers amber eyes that told him it wouldn't be a good idea.

"Killing Karai." Michelangelo stated. He was telling the truth, sort of, just not all of it.

"I don' think ya killed 'er." Casey stated.

"What do ya mean?" Michelangelo asked.

The question came out fast and for a split second April thought she saw panic in the turtles eyes.

"Turn up the tube." Casey replied point at the T.V. where the news anchor was in the middle of a report.

"…_police have yet to arrest any suspect in the brutal attack on local business woman, Karai Oroku, that occurred late last night. Ms. Oroku is still listed under critical condition at a local hospital with a vicious wound to the abdomen caused by a very sharp and long knife of some sort. Police ask anyone with any information to please call the Police Department…"_

Michelangelo hit the mute button, not wanting to hear any more. The turtle who usually wore his heart on his sleeve was unreadable.

"Mikey-" Raphael began but stopped when Donatello walked out of his lab.

IIIIIIIIII

Once again they were holding a pow-wow in the living room (Raphael had lost count on exactly how many times they had done this in the last 48 hours).

"So what's the verdict Don?" Raphael asked, since no one else seemed in a hurry to speak first.

"Well, the reprogramming of the nanites caused a little trouble for us, but after that was done it was smooth sailing. The procedure was a success and the nanites seem to be operating within the parameters I gave them."

"Donatello is being modest. That 'little trouble' with the nanites would have taken a team of Federation scientists hours to overcome. He is truly astounding." Jaxom praised, truly in awe of what the young turtle had accomplished.

Donatello's cheeks darkened in their equivalent of a blush.

"Yes, we have known of my sons gift since he was very young. Though we do sometimes take it for granted."

Donatello's cheeks darkened even more.

"As entertainin' as it is ta see Genius here blush, when will we know if this worked or not?"

Michelangelo rolled his eyes. Leave it to Raphael to cut to the chase. Patience has never been his virtue.

Jaxom regarded the room with a sudden seriousness that unnerved most of the occupants.

"The first few hours are the most critical, where any movement could be detriment to the nanites repairs so we've given Leonardo a sedative that will ware off by mid morning tomorrow. If we don't see any return of feeling at that time, then the procedure failed."

"That's the worst case scenario right?"

"Yes Michelangelo."

"And the best case?"

"Best case would be that Leonardo would be fully recovered in about three weeks." Jaxom answered.

"So now we're jus' playin' the waitin' game, huh?" Casey asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Better knock Raph out too cause we all know how much he loves waitin' around." Michelangelo teased and effectively melted the tension that's been hanging in the air.

"Mikey! You're so lucky I can't get over there ta smack ya!"

"Dude, that's why I said it!"

That got a chuckle from the entire room.

IIIIIIIIII

This time when he woke, Leonardo knew exactly where he was. He didn't rush the process but just lay there, listening. He could tell immediately that he wasn't alone. The sleeping sounds of all three of his brothers met his ears. The nonsense mumbles of Michelangelo, the loud snoring of Raphael and the softer snores of Donatello gave Leonardo a sense of contentedness and safety. No matter what the outcome of the procedure was, he was happy to be with his family.

"Mew"

The sound made Leonardo open his eyes and look down at the floor. Klunk sat there just staring up at him with a 'what-are-you-waiting-for-you-should-be-petting-me' look. Leonardo smirked and obeyed the silent order. He dangled his arm over the bed and wiggled his fingers. Klunk stayed put, about a foot away.

"Come on, I can't pet you if you don't come here." Leonardo whispered.

Klunk stared at him a moment longer, then stepped forward, first sniffing Leonardo's hand and then giving a lick before rubbing it with gusto. The engine like purr made Leonardo chuckle.

"I missed you too Klunk."

Raphael's snoring had stopped and Leonardo knew his red masked brother was waking up. A string of nearly inaudible curses confirmed it.

"What's wrong Raph?"

Leonardo heard him suck in a breath.

"Sorry Fearless, didn' mean ta wake ya."

"You didn't. What happened?"

"Nothin'…jus' sorta forgot my hand was broke."

"Ouch."

"Yeah." Raphael's voice lacked the usual gruffness and Leonardo could tell he was in more pain than he was letting on.

"I think this calls for a round of feel good tablets." Donatello announced from his cot.

"I'll take two!" Michelangelo seconded.

"Sorry guys, didn' mean ta wake ya." Raphael said.

Michelangelo just shook his head as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, favoring his injured shoulder,

"You didn't, my souvenir from Karai did." He said as he lightly fingered the injury.

Three heads automatically turned to Donatello, who shrugged.

"Yeah you woke me, but I'm not gonna complain."

He got up and went over to the cabinet where he took out a bottle of pills. He handed out two pills and a bottle of water to each brother.

"These will help with the pain but won't cause drowsiness."

"Too bad. I still feel like I could sleep for at least a week." Michelangelo said after he swallowed his pills.

After that the room went into an awkward silence. No one knew what to say or how to proceed. Plus no matter how much positive thinking they've done, there was still a possibility they would be disappointed and they weren't sure if they were ready to face that possibility. Their lives could be in for a really big change and no one wanted to be the one to challenge the outcome they all wished and hoped for.

Finally Leonardo could stand it no longer. He had to know one way or another so he could move on with his life. Dwelling on these kind of things never turned out well for him.

"So…" Leonardo broke the silence, "What's the next step?"

Donatello took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke.

"Well, we should probably go get Master Splinter…"

"NO!"

Three shocked and confused faces looked at Leonardo as if he had two heads.

"What! Why?" Donatello asked.

"Yeah Fearless, he'd wanna be here." Raphael added, though he had an idea what was bother his older brother.

"I-I don't…I just…" Leonardo stumbled for words as he struggled to keep his composure.

He never stumbled for words.

Michelangelo hated seeing his brother like this. So unsure, unconfident, so…un-Leo like.

"You don't want to him to see your failure if it turns out you _can't_ walk."

"Yeah." Leonardo conceded in a defeated and guilty voice.

'_Who thought Mikey was so insightful?' _Raphael thought.

"Ok. I guess I don't really see the harm in doing a preliminary check before we wake Sensei."

"Thanks Don."

Donatello ignored his tired and sore muscles as he came to stand beside his blue banded brother. He forced all thoughts out of his mind, determined to keep a clinical point of view, otherwise he didn't know if he would make it through the examination. He also made a mental note 'diagnose out loud' so everyone found out together.

He bypassed the multitude of cuts, bruises and burns that covered Leonardo's upper body (which still churned his stomach) and went straight to the source of all the trouble. The hole in Leonardo's shell.

"Oh, wow!"

Three worried and curious 'whats' followed Donatello's exclamation.

"Those nanites are amazing! They've already completely rebuilt Leo's shell!" Donatello had to look very hard to find the slightly lighter colored area that told of new growth.

"They accelerated the healing process by almost 80%, it's amazing!"

"Yeah Don, ya said that already." Raph said, barely managing to suppress a chuckle at his brainy brother. He was like a nerd in a tech store.

"If they're so fast at healin' then how come he still looks like hell?"

"Way to be blunt Raphie." Michelangelo commented.

Raphael just glared since he wasn't close enough to smack him.

"Because we only had a limited number of nanites and programming them was not a walk in the park, so I concentrated them on Leo's worst injuries."

Raphael nodded his understanding.

Everyone noticed Leonardo's lack of involvement in the conversation but they refrained from commenting on it, knowing he had to work through his thoughts on his own. This was a delicate situation, one that they haven't even come close to experiencing in all their years of fighting. Yes they've been hurt severely and even come close to death a few times, but loosing function of a limb? Never. This was heavy stuff to deal with in any case, but their life style and young age made it especially hard.

And Leonardo was scared. He knew it and his brothers knew it but what they didn't know was how to deal with that fear.

Klunk, who _had_ been enjoying the undivided attention, grew impatient when the attention stopped. So she jumped onto Leonardo's shell and started rubbing Donatello's face.

"Klunk!" Donatello spit cat hair from his mouth as he shoed her away, "Go on, get!"

Klunk mewed pitifully and meandered to the foot of Leonardo's cot, where she sat and started to groom her paws.

"The new shell is still soft and vulnerable so I'll probably have to put a temporary covering over it to protect it."

Klunk grew tired once again of being ignored and resorted to an age old trick of getting some attention. She reached out with her paw, claws extended and snagged Leonardo's calf.

"OW!" Leonardo exclaimed as he pushed Klunk off the cot with his leg.

Everyone, including Leonardo, just stared wide eyed at the limb. Then as one, they whooped and hollered as they hugged and high-three'd each other.

From his room, Master Splinter heard the joyous celebration and allowed a smile of relief to steal onto his face.

**A/N: And there you have it! There is only one more chapter left, really more like an epilogue. Mikey has some unfinished business that Leo is going to have to help him with.**


End file.
